The prices at JCPenney are going back up — and so are its sales and its stock price.
The struggling department store said its sales at stores open at least a year jumped 10 percent in November as it continued to reverse the disastrous strategies of former CEO Ron Johnson.
Penney shares — which have tumbled 49 percent this year as of Tuesday’s close at $10.11 — rose more than 5 percent in after-hours trading.
Sales were up last month as Penney returned to its tradition of marking prices up before discounting them with sales and coupons — a practice that had been banished by Johnson, a former Apple exec.
Penney didn’t comment on its margins, but said e-commerce sales were “well ahead of last year.”
“We are pleased with our performance over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, particularly in light of the continued spending pressures on consumers,” said CEO Mike Ullman, who returned to the helm after leaving in late 2011 when Johnson arrived.
Ullman’s upbeat comments, which came only a month after Penney eked out a 0.9-percent same-store sales gain in October, came as reports industrywide for the Thanksgiving weekend were lackluster.
On Tuesday, ShopperTrak said sales over the four-day weekend rose just 1 percent, to $22.2 billion, on a 4-percent drop in traffic. The firm has forecast that holiday sales will rise 2.4 percent, their smallest increase since 2009.
“The [Penney] traffic and conversion we saw both in stores and online this weekend was exciting for everyone across our organization,” Ullman said.
But the CEO warned that “the environment will remain as competitive as ever.”
Penney said it saw strong performance this weekend of “giftable items.” But according to a source, some shoppers were annoyed when the company’s traditional Christmas snow globes were put on sale in staggered fashion on Thanksgiving and Black Friday, leaving some empty-handed.