J.C. Penney Taps Former Joann Stores CEO as Next Leader -- 2nd Update
October 02 2018 - 6:26PM
Dow Jones News
By Maria Armental
Troubled retailer J.C. Penney & Co. has appointed Jill
Soltau as its next chief executive, succeeding Marvin Ellison, who
left in May for Lowe's Cos.
Ms. Soltau, a retail veteran, will join Penney on Oct. 15 from
Joann Stores, where she has been the CEO and president since March
2015.
Her appointment comes a week after Penney announced its finance
chief, Jeffrey Davis, was leaving on Oct. 1.
The Plano, Texas, company has closed stores and cut jobs, but
sales have sputtered and its once-iconic stature has diminished as
losses have piled up. Many traditional chains like Penney have
struggled as spending moves to the web, and Amazon.com Inc.
squeezes retailing profits.
In the most recent year, ended Feb. 3, Penney swung to a $116
million loss and reported $12.51 billion in sales, down slightly
from the year earlier. For the first half of this year, the company
has reported a loss of $179 million
Joann Stores said Tuesday Ms. Soltau had resigned effective
immediately to pursue another opportunity. The company said she
would be temporarily succeeded by Chief Financial Officer Wade
Miquelon.
Ms. Soltau helped to revitalize branding, refreshed
merchandising strategy and expanded digital capabilities, the
fabric and craft specialty retailer said Tuesday.
In announcing her appointment Penney's director Paul J. Brown,
chairman of the CEO search committee, noted Ms. Soltau's experience
in revamping operations in previous companies.
"We wanted someone with rich apparel and merchandising
experience and found Jill to be an ideal fit," Mr. Brown said.
Ms. Soltau will be paid a $1.4 million base salary and be
eligible for a bonus of at least $1.58 million. She will receive a
one-time cash signing bonus of $6 million plus a restricted stock
grant.
Shares, which lag the market having lost more than half of their
value this year 51% decline, rose 10% to $1.72 in after-hours
trading.
Suzanne Kapner contributed to this article.
Write to Maria Armental at maria.armental@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 02, 2018 18:11 ET (22:11 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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