With Huge First Quarter Loss, JC Penney Looks To Improve Online Shopping

In 2011, JC Penney's began pursuing to turn their retail ship around and back on a course of success. The retail company even hired former Apple retail executive Ron Johnson to lead the charge for future growth. The company has not seen the incline it has hoped for and in the first quarter of this year, JC Penney has hit huge losses for the worst.

CNNMoney reports JC Penney has suffered a first quarter loss of $289 million and a decrease of sales of 16.4% from 2012. Its' shares fell 2.2% on Thursday. This occurs after the step down of CEO Ron Johnson. The former CEO pursued to revive the company with new ideas and initiatives. He pursued to implement changes such as overhaul pricing, redesigned store layouts, and create mobile and self-checkout machines within stores. The attempt has not given JC Penney's the growth it is looking for so far.

JC Penney's now has new CEO Mike Ullman at the helm now and he knows there is work to be done. "We recognize the magnitude of the challenges that we face, and we believe we can put J.C. Penney back on a pathway to profitable growth", stated Ullman in an analyst conference call. One of the first actions the company has taken is admitting mistakes and asking customers to return via a YouTube channel ad. The company has also received a $1.75 billion loan from Goldman Sachs for the big push forward.

Former CEO Johnson did have a pursuit that has not change with Ullman, which is online retail. One of the areas Ullman mentioned about improving was relative to its' online store. "Over the last year, jcp.com functioned as a completely separate entity inside the company, with little synergy between stores and online," said Ullman. He pledged to reemphasize their private brands and increase its' online store performance.

Online shopping has had a great impact on many brick-and-mortar stores, some of which have ended up closing such as Circuit City, which JC Penney is pursuing to not have the same fate. The direction is clear that e-retail has now created a major revolution in the business world and brick-and-mortar stores must go with shift if they want to thrive. Large retailers such as Wal-Mart, Macy's, eBay, Google, and more are making online shopping a top business objective, putting the pieces together to make it more attractive and effective.

All of these online giants are even implementing same-day delivery of their online products as e-retail and mobile commerce becomes a standard in the way we do business. Same-day couriers like A-1 Express are being partnered with to offer delivery services to get online shoppers their products to their front door easy and fast. The Phoenix Courier has a national footprint and is able to assist companies like JC Penney implement profitable online store delivery ideas and solutions.

References: 5.16.13, CNNMoney, James O'Toole, Another massive loss for J.C. Penney