New J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) CEO Jill Soltau will get a $6 million bonus to head the extremely troubled retailer, less applicable withholding tax. She joins a company with a share price of only $1.56, down 56% in the past year.
Soltau ran Joann Stores before joining J.C. Penney. It claims to be the largest fabric and craft retailer in the United States. It has 865 stores and an “industry-leading e-commerce business,” which is unlikely, based on the size of some online retail operations. Joann Stores is privately held and, by some estimates, has revenue of $2.5 billion.
Soltau gets her bonus, plus a base salary of $1.6 billion and a potential bonus as high as 300% of that base, which is $4.2 billion. While that may seem high, she is taking a risk that she can accomplish a long shot. J.C. Penney is one of the most damaged large retailers in the United States.
As J.C. Penney announced the appointment, Soltau said: “JCPenney is a quintessential American brand with a strong and loyal customer base, and I couldn’t be prouder to lead such an iconic retailer.”
If that base indeed exists, it has grown so small as to be negligible. J.C. Penney’s comparable store sales were up 0.3% in the quarter that ended August 4. Revenue dropped 7.5% to $2.67 billion, partly because J.C. Penney continued to shutter stores. The company lost $101 million during the quarter.
J.C. Penney continues to be overwhelmed by larger competitors, particularly Target and Walmart, both of which have greater revenue, larger store bases, much larger online presences and strong balance sheets. J.C. Penney, however, has been mentioned as a Chapter 11 candidate by credit and retail experts.
Soltau is fortunate to get her $6 million upfront. J.C. Penney may be unable to pay out the entire balance of her contract.
The Average American Has No Idea How Much Money You Can Make Today (Sponsor)
The last few years made people forget how much banks and CD’s can pay. Meanwhile, interest rates have spiked and many can afford to pay you much more, but most are keeping yields low and hoping you won’t notice.
But there is good news. To win qualified customers, some accounts are paying almost 10x the national average! That’s an incredible way to keep your money safe and earn more at the same time. Our top pick for high yield savings accounts includes other benefits as well. You can earn up to 3.80% with a Checking & Savings Account today Sign up and get up to $300 with direct deposit. No account fees. FDIC Insured.
Click here to see how much more you could be earning on your savings today. It takes just a few minutes to open an account to make your money work for you.
Our top pick for high yield savings accounts includes other benefits as well. You can earn up to 4.00% with a Checking & Savings Account from Sofi. Sign up and get up to $300 with direct deposit. No account fees. FDIC Insured.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.
Latest from 24/7
Our expert who first called NVIDIA in 2009 is predicting 2025 will see a historic AI breakthrough.
You can follow him investing $500,000 of his own money on our top AI stocks for free.