For JC Penney, debt haunts turnaround bid
JC Penney Co Inc’s stock has plunged more than 70 per cent over the past year and now trades under $1. Its first-quarter financial loss nearly doubled to $154 million. But in newly-minted Chief Executive Officer Jill Soltau’s turnaround bid, another figure looms larger: $4 billion. That is the rough total of a potentially crushing debt load on Penney’s balance sheet, a ticking time bomb that could derail Soltau’s attempt to revitalise the 117-yearold department store chain.
Soltau, hired late last year from craft and fabrics seller Jo-ann Stores, is attempting to restore Penney’s roots as a retailer of midpriced apparel for middle-class families. In the short term, she is reducing inventory at stores to boost margins on merchandise and closing underperforming outlets.
Soltau, who declined an interview request through a spokeswoman, earlier this year described Penney’s turnaround attempt as “a long road” with “no silver bullets” that “will take time.”
Penney has about $1.75 billion in liquidity in the form of cash and money available under a revolving credit line, a point Soltau has emphasised in meetings with hedge funds holding the retailer’s loans and bonds, a person familiar with the matter said. That makes Penney’s near-term debt payments manageable.
But more than $2 billion comes due in 2023, the legacy of a loan tapped six years ago after Penney replaced former CEO Ron Johnson. The onetime pioneer of Apple
Inc’s retail outlets launched expensive renovations of Penney stores and eliminated coupons, sparking a customer backlash that resulted in plunging sales.
Johnson was one of four executives who have tried to turn Penney around since 2011. Macy’s Inc, by comparison, had the same CEO since 2003 until a recent change, while Kohls Corp recently tapped a new top executive to succeed one who had the reins since 2008.
Declining visits from shoppers have led to years of falling sales and strained cash flow at Penney, raising concerns among shareholders, creditors and vendors shipping merchandise that the company won’t be able to meet its financial obligations, even those four years away.
The result is Penney hired advisers to explore debt restructuring options that would buy more time to forge a turnaround, Reuters reported in July. Penney subsequently confirmed hiring advisers to improve its balance sheet after investors dumped its shares, and added it was not making bankruptcy preparations.
“We weren’t surprised,” said Levi Strauss & Co Chief Executive Officer Chip Bergh in an interview. “We’re looking at their debt and we’re managing our credit with them appropriately.”
Bergh has urged Penney to stock more of his company’s denim and purchase less from poorer selling brands. “They’ve got to turn their business around and put some points on the board,” he said.
Penney’s latest debt advisers include restructuring specialists from law firm Kirkland & Ellis LLP and investment bank Lazard Ltd, according to people familiar with the hires.
The firms, which had no comment, have worked on significant workouts with other retailers, including on a debt restructuring earlier this year for luxury clothier Neiman Marcus Group Ltd executed without the need for a bankruptcy filing.
The advisers are not exploring a bankruptcy filing for Penney and are focused on reworking finances outside of court proceedings, one of the sources said. Penney took similar steps in 2013, leading to a new loan it has refinanced to come due in four years.
Levi’s Bergh said Penney is a “long way away” from suffering the fate of Sears Holdings Corp, which filed for bankruptcy last year. “It’s worth pointing out that when Sears declared bankruptcy, we had negligible financial exposure because we had been managing credit in an appropriate way. We’re doing the same thing with J.C. Penney,” he said.