J.C. Penney cuts losses, will sell used clothes

Shares of J.C. Penney surged after the ailing department store cut its quarterly losses in half and announced that it would begin selling used clothing to staunch fading sales.

Retailers have been searching for ways to get people back into their stores in the decade since the global economic downturn altered consumer behavior, a period that has run parallel with the ascent of Amazon.com.

Among the worst hit has been J.C. Penney, a company that traces its roots back to 1902 and just received a delisting warning from the New York Stock Exchange because its shares have fallen below $1.

On Thursday, the Plano-based company said it would be partnering with thredUP, a resale website where people can buy and sell clothes online. J.C. Penney will open threadUP shops in 30 stores soon.

“We are not simply running a business — we are rebuilding a business,” CEO Jill Soltau said in a prepared statement.

Sales at established stores, a crucial measure of a retailer’s health, have eroded steadily. Same store sales tumbled 9 percent in the second quarter, or 6 percent when the impact of the company’s exit from major appliance and in-store furniture sales are accounted for.

The decision to bring appliances and furniture back into stores did not generate the traffic or sales it has hoped.

Another struggling department store, Macy’s, cut its expectations for the year on Wednesday and fell far short of Wall Street’s profit expectations.

It too announced a partnership with threadUP to sell used clothing.