J.C. Penney

New York City -- J.C. Penney Co. CEO Myron "Mike" Ullman is on track to receive a hefty exit package when he retires from the company in early 2012. The package currently is valued at about $30.7 million, according to an analysis prepared for The Wall Street Journal. Ullman will be succeeded by Apple retail guru Ron Johnson.

PLANO, Texas — While such higher-end apparel retailers as Nordstrom and Dillard's boasted impressive quarterly earnings and sales, those that cater to the middle class didn't deliver quite as strongly. Case in point, JCPenney, which reported net income of $14 million, or 7 cents per share, for the second quarter ended July 30. Net income for the same period last year was $14 million, or 6 cents per share. The company reported that same-store sales for the quarter increased 1.5% thanks to increased interest in its exclusive and private brands and the expansion of Sephora. Total sales were down

Clad, a new e-commerce partnership between J.C. Penney and Esquire magazine, will launch later this month. Clad will debut with labels including Michael Kors, Jack Spade, Rag & Bone, Cole Haan, Redwing, Vince, Seven for All Mankind, Citizens of Humanity, Joe’s Jeans, Hickey Freeman, Ben Sherman, Levi’s, Tumi, Malin + Goetz, Billy Jealousy and Kale Naturals.

In a notification to Connecticut’s labor department, J.C. Penney said it will lay off 442 workers at its distribution center in Manchester, Conn. According to the notice, the company is closing the facility's dot-com unit. Employees' last day will be Sept. 30.

It’s no secret that U.S. retail sales collapsed in 2008 and 2009 because of the recession. But several of the largest retailers consistently performed poorly between 2005 and 2010 for reasons that go beyond the recession.

Broader economic warning signs — including a persistently high unemployment rate — have yet to slow down the recovery in retail sales. As a result, demand for retail space continues to grow and new concepts, of which there were few to be found at the depths of the recession, have re-emerged.

One of the biggest challenges for retailers today is obtaining customer loyalty. How do you retain the customers you already have, while at the same time attracting new ones? Gone are the days when retailers exclusively owned a person’s loyalty. In today’s competitive environment most retailers and brands are actively trying to figure out ways to grab that customer and divert their attention away from the competitive landscape.

Target, Kohl's and J.C. Penney ranked highest among discounters in consumer perception in the first half of 2011, according to YouGov BrandIndex. The company interviews 5,000 people each weekday from a representative U.S. population sample, more than 1.2 million interviews per year. Here's YouGov’s Retail Buzz scores for discounters in the first half of 2011: Target (33.9), Kohl's (29.5), J.C. Penney (23.9), Costco (23.3), Dollar Tree (16.2), Wal-Mart (15.7), Sam's Club (15.4), Big Lots (15.4) and Dollar General (13.8).

Mike Boylson, J.C. Penney's longtime chief marketer, has retired. The retailer confirmed his departure and said it's begun a search for his successor. Boylson announced his plans to retire in early June, and left the company July 1. His retirement wasn't previously announced, despite his executive role and tenure at the company.

Lucky is the latest magazine to jump on the social shopping bandwagon as it announced its partnership with ThisNext.com. The cobranded shopping site will be accessible through LuckyMag.com and ThisNext.com, allowing shoppers to create personalized "shopping guides" from all the products featured in the latest issue of Lucky.