Department store chain J.C. Penney will be closing 33 stores and laying off 2,000 employees to try to get back on its feet after waning sales, the company announced Thursday.
The list of the 33 stores soon to close can be found here.
The Plano, Texas-based company hasn't disclosed exact sales figures on December numbers, only saying they were pleased with the sales, The Associated Press reported.
Analysts have conjectured that the season wasn't as successful as the company had hoped. J.C. Penney is still recovering from a "turnaround plan" that backfired, according to the AP.
"It was a season where they realized that they had to do more to reconnect with the customers they've lost," Brian Sozzi, CEO and chief equities strategist at Belus Capital Advisors, told the AP.
The announced layoffs and store closings should save around $65 million a year for the chain, which comprises 116,000 staffers and more than 1,100 stores.
J.C. Penney is fighting to come back from devastating drops in sales that happened on the watch of former CEO Ron Johnson.
Booted after just 17 months on the job, Johnson left in April and was succeeded by Mike Ullman, who had previously served as CEO.
The retailer has tried to undo the losses incurred under Johnson, bringing back the frequent sales events and basic store merchandise that the former CEO ditched in an effort to reboot the company.
Recent sales figures have shown improvement. For J.C. Penney locations open at least one year, sales rose 0.9 percent in October for the chain's first increase since December 2011, according to the AP.
All officials would say about the company's holiday performance was that they were "pleased with its performance for the holiday period," and that December sales "continued progress in its turnaround efforts."
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