JC Penny (NYSE: JCP) appoints a new CEO

JC Penny (NYSE: JCP) has announced its new CEO. The previous Home Depot (NYSE: HD)’s exec Marvin Ellison has replaced Mike Ullman, who has been moved to an executive position. JC Penny (NYSE: JCP) is a struggling company and through this new appointment, it is hoping to overcome its current problems. This news has been welcomed by the investors and they are sending the shares of JC Penny (NYSE: JCP) to a positive domain.

The company announced that Ellison will take up the position of president on November 1^st and will take over the position of CEO on August 1, 2015. Ullman will then take up the position of executive chairman of the board and is expected to stay on for a year.

Ellison has worked as the executive vice-president at Home Depot (NYSE: HD) stores since August 2008. He has been with Home Depot for almost 12 years and has also worked for Target (NYSE: TGT).

Ullman welcomed Ellison to JC Penny (NYSE: JCP) and praised his customer building skills and ability to motivate other. He went on to say that Ellison is exactly what JC Penny (NYSE: JCP) needs at this time.

The chairman of JC Penny (NYSE: JCP)’s board, Thomas Engibous also praised Ellison and said that the new CEO will bring with him his legacy of immense knowledge of store operations and supply chain management along with his ability to run large retail organizations.

Ellison showed his gratitude by saying that he is honoured to be given this opportunity of working at JC Penny (NYSE: JCP). He said that the company has been a vital part of America’s retail industry for more than 100 years and he looks forward to work on making the company more competitive.

While it is hoped that the change proves to be beneficiary for the retail company; the history tells a different story. This is JC Penny (NYSE: JCP)’s third CEO in less than four years. In the year 2011, the company hired a former Apple executive, Ron Johnson who affirmed that he will turn the struggling company around and make it a success. However in April 2013, Ullman took over the position.

JC Penny (NYSE: JCP)’s third quarter sales results came out last week which weren’t encouraging at all. The retailer saw lesser sales than it has expected for the month of September, and the retail environment does not look promising for the future either. However, the announcement of Ellison as the new CEO of the company did take up the shares of the company by 8% as per Monday’s pre-market trading session report. The stock is 4.21% for the current year. The decline in the stock is 19.8%. JC Penny (NYSE: JCP) is trying desperately to get itself out of the bleak situation, and appointment of the new CEO is another attempt to turn things around. It remains to be seen if the new CEO will be able to deliver and improve the current market status.