As Bidders Stalk Kohl’s, JCPenney’s 650 Locations and Customers Deserve 2nd Look

If Kohl’s, with 1,100 stores and roughly $20 billion in revenue, is worth $9 billion, how much would storied department store chain JCPenney, with 650 locations doing $9 billion in sales, be worth?

While there has been no indication or public discussion that the Texas-based retailer is looking to do anything right now but grow in its second year since emerging from bankruptcy in late 2020, it is hard not to make thumbnail comparisons at a time when rival Kohl’s is in the news on a daily basis about the possibility of being acquired.

What is known for sure about JCPenney is that its sales are rising again, its store closures have stopped, and the retailer has over 5,000 current job openings posted on its website in dozens of states.

At the same time, it is also actively posting catchy new ads and product launches nearly every day on its Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube pages, and making its new CEO, Marc Rosen, available for a feature interview with The Wall Street Journal in which he said the retailer is “done chasing customers.”

“The biggest difference this time is we are loving those who love us. We need to give them more opportunity to come back and find things they love,” Rosen is quoted by the Journal as saying, in the 2,000 word story that includes no less than six photos and reminiscences of the executive’s childhood.

Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop

To be sure, JCPenney still has plenty of work to do, but since being acquired for $800 million in cash and debt by mall owners Simon Property Group and Brookfield Property Partners, along with turn-around specialist Authentic Brands Group 20 months ago, this privately owned company has been able to take care of business out of the public’s view.

This, compared to Wisconsin-based Kohl’s, whose board and executive leadership is currently in the process of lobbying investors to reject outside bids and instead allow them to keep their jobs and carry on with the current transformation plan.

While Kohl’s is busy mailing out letters to maintain its independence, JCPenney is busy pushing spring dresses to its 5.5 million followers on Facebook.

“Can’t stop. Won’t stop. Shop the spring dresses that are catching everyone’s attention,” the retailer’s latest 7-second video post says. While on Twitter it urges customers to shop over 800 items for grown-up Easter baskets.

Eye On the Prize

To be fair, the average Kohl’s customer — not investors or retail industry observers — would never know anything was up at the second-largest department store chain, as its stores, website and social media activity is every bit as active and cheerful as JCPenney’s.

While Kohl’s did not respond to a request for comment at the time this article was published, it is hard to argue that the energy and attention required by the former to manage the pursuit of activist investors is not at least somewhat of a distraction compared to the current path of the latter.

“Customers appreciate having a one-stop destination for fashion, home, beauty, salon and more — and JCPenney is the only retailer offering that today,” Jim DePaul, EVP of stores at JCPenney, told PYMNTS via email, in which he called the company’s 650+ stores “the foundation of its omnichannel experience.”

“We’re investing in technology, store environment and visual enhancements. This creates a better customer experience for those shopping in-store as well as those who shop online and take advantage of our services like BOPIS, pickup-in-store, curbside pickup and DoorDash same-day delivery,” DePaul added.

For its part, category leader Macy’s appears to have convinced investors that its status-quo omnichannel approach is the best way forward, as it continues to refine operations and make logistical investments to support its business.