Adrian Gomez Investments

Today, November 20, 2013 JC Penney announced its third quarter results with a press release followed by a conference call before the markets opened for business. Overall, I believe that it was good news for the longs (such as myself). However, skepticism is still hanging in there as the material results were disappointing and the only good news are the trends that seem to be improving but are yet to show on the quarterly results. As promised, I will give you, what I believe are the most important things from the conference call and quarterly results for your review. Mike Ullman the CEO mentioned that "the turnaround for J.C. Penney is beginning to take hold" He also said that during the third quarter "we began generating positive sales momentum". Nevertheless, those positive sales trends are not yet materialized and reflected into this quarter results. Margins on sales are not yet improving. In fact, they are deteriorating based on the same period last yea...

It has been almost a year since I started following JC Penney and their turnaround effort. I have to admit that supporting them back then was just a little too early and I have paid the price, losing close to half of my original investment on shares of this company. Having said that, I still think this company can and will be turned around. Though I still think some of the changes that Ron Johnson introduced are good for the company (e.g. uncluttered stores), It is also true that taking away the coupons were a major mistake that resulted in a precipitated decline on sales. Now that Mike Ullman is back on the reign and coupons have been reinstated I think customers will come back. JC Penney is scheduled to release earnings this upcoming Wednesday, and based on the latest events and releases from the company, I expect it to give positive news that will give the stock a much needed boost and at the same time scare some short sellers away from it. I will listen to the conferenc...

We all know by now the fact that J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE: JCP) is undergoing some major changes in an effort to transform the stores and turn things around. The main idea is to de-clutter the stores and focus on shops (stores within the store) to make customers more comfortable while shopping and try to keep them as much time in the stores as possible. This approach may work if it’s done in a revolutionary way, a way that elevates the shopping experience to a whole new level. But, how can that be done? You may ask yourself. Well, after reading and reading through the earnings releases and company presentations along with other reports in the industry, I came to a conclusion; JCP is focusing on the customer experience (as they should) and not just on sales through coupons and “special” sales as some of its competitors. When focusing on the customer experience they will be engaging customers with a nice environment and one that can’t be found anywhere else. First, b...