=J.C. Penney (JCP) drops below $1

The day after Christmas, Penney shares dipped below $1 - hitting 99 cents - for the first time in the company's history.

Last month, J.C. Penney said sales at stores open for more than a year fell 5.4% in the third quarter, pushing the retailer to a wider-than-expected loss of 48 cents a share. The group also scrapped its full-year profit guidance.

At that time, CEO Jill Soltau, who took over the top position in October, said in a statement that "in spite of our overall sales results, I am encouraged by the recent underlying trends in key businesses such as women's apparel, active, special sizes and fine jewelry."

"We are making progress and taking the necessary steps to right-size our inventory positions to better support the brands and categories that are demonstrating profitable sales growth," said Soltau, who was most recently president and CEO of Jo-Ann Fabric and Crafts Stores. "While restoring J.C. Penney to sustained profitable growth will be a lengthy process, I understand the need for quick action. My commitment is that we will make sound, strategic decisions backed by data, and will always be rooted in delivering on our customers' wants and expectations."

-=Pier 1 Imports (PIR) reported earnings on Wed 19 Dec 18 (a/h)

Pier 1 Imports misses by $0.61, misses on revs; appoints Cheryl Bachelder interim CEO

• Reports Q3 (Nov) loss of $0.62 per share, $0.61 worse than the S&P Capital IQ Consensus of ($0.01); revenues fell 12.0% year/year to $413 mln vs the $455.2 mln S&P Capital IQ Consensus. Company comparable sales decreased 10.5% compared to the third quarter of fiscal 2018; the Company estimates that the shift of certain holiday selling days, which were not included in last year's fiscal third quarter, benefited third quarter fiscal 2019 company comparable sales by approximately 600 basis points. The impact of this timing shift is expected to reverse in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019.
• Pier 1 separately announced today that it has appointed Cheryl A. Bachelder, a member of the Company's Board of Directors, as Interim Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. Additionally, Pier 1 announced a number of actions to enhance shareholder value and position the Company for long-term growth and profitability.