Following the results of the first quarter, which ended on March 31, 2014, JC Penney Company Inc. reported sales growth of 6.3% year-on-year to $ 2.8 billion. Sales in comparable stores increased by 6.2%. The cost of goods sold increased by 2.9% to $ 1.9 billion, gross margin increased to 33.1% compared with 30.8% for the same period a year earlier. The net loss of the retailer grew by 1% to $ 352 million, or $ 1.15 per share, Rapaport reports.
The most sold categories of goods in the 1 st quarter were clothing, household goods and jewelry. Good results were shown by the Sephora brand, sold in JCPenney stores.
JCPenney CEO Myron Ullman noted that during the second quarter in a row the company demonstrates sales growth and improvement of gross profit margin, and despite the difficult market conditions, the sales results on Easter holidays and the 1st quarter exceeded expectations.