Early retirement 
 
 The early retirement offer, which is based on age and years with the company, shouldn't be viewed as a desperation move, Ellison said. 
 
 "This was done purposefully. It's not a coincidence or an act of desperation. We just posted our first profit in years," he said in an interview Friday. "We've been all about controlling costs at the home office, but this is more in line with lessening the negative impact from store closings." 
 
 About 5,000 people work at the stores that are closing. By offering retirement to 6,000 people across the company, Ellison said it should create openings that some of those employees can fill. 
 
 "We understand that closing stores will impact the lives of many hard working associates," Ellison said in a statement. "By coordinating the timing of these two events, we can expect to see a net increase in hiring." 
 
 Penney employees must decide by March 17 whether to take the buyout. 
 
 
 
 Women's apparel weakness 
 
 Ellison said the company's fourth-quarter sales didn't meet expectations and its margins were hurt by aggressive coupon promotions that weren't "data driven." It was a tactical decision to drive traffic, but can be done better, he added. 
 
 Penney reported a fourth-quarter profit of $192 million, or 61 cents a share, compared to a loss of $131 million, or 43 cents a share, a year ago. Total sales declined 0.9 percent to $3.96 billion from $4 billion last year. Same-store sales fell 0.7 percent. 
 
 Analysts surveyed by Thompson Reuters were looking for a profit of 61 cents a share and sales of $3.98 billion. The misses drove Penney's stock down by 40 cents, or almost 6 percent, to close Friday at $6.46 a share. 
 
 This year, including the impact of store closings, Penney expects to be profitable and post sales comparable to 2016's $12.55 billion. 
 
 "When we look at the state of the consumer, by every measure, there are no flags for why the consumer would pull back spending," Ellison said. "Unemployment is down and wages are up. And we feel good about where we are going and the things we can control." 
 
 Penney plans to open 70 more Sephora shops in its stores this year and salons made a strong turnaround in 2016, after being a drag for several years, he said. It's also adding kitchen and laundry major appliance departments to 100 more stores after introducing it last year in 500 stores. 
 
 The retailer is also positioning itself to take advantage of Sears' ongoing store closings. It co-anchors 400 malls with Sears, Ellison said. It's also testing other big ticket items with partnerships offering flooring and heating and air conditioning service. 
 
 Sephora, salons, fine jewelry, appliances and toys were strong categories in the fourth quarter. Penney has introduced temporary toy departments for the holiday season, but this year is leaving toys in about 100 stores, Ellison said. 
 
 Women's apparel was the laggard in the fourth quarter, Ellison said during the conference call. If that category had performed the same as men's and children's clothing, fourth-quarter sales would have been positive, he told analysts. 
 
 Women's apparel general manager Siiri Dougherty has since left the company, Penney spokeswoman Daphne Avila confirmed. 
 
 As the largest single category for Penney, Ellison suggested it stuck too long to career clothing while the customer wanted more casual attire. 
 
 Last year, Penney also focused on the plus size shopper and that, along with athletic apparel, performed well. And "we are No. 3 in men's big and tall and not trying really hard," Ellison said. 
 
 To improve margins, chief financial officer Ed Record said, Penney has started regional pricing in 60 stores and so far results are "strong." 
 
 Penney has maintained the same prices across the U.S., and "maybe it doesn't make sense to have the same prices in Manhattan as in rural Alabama," Record said. Competitors like Dillard's already use regional pricing. 
 
 
 
 Penney also sold its headquarters and land in transactions totaling $346 million. It will use most of the money to pay down debt. ||||| NEW YORK (AP) — J.C. Penney said Friday that it will be closing anywhere from 130 to 140 stores as well as two distribution centers over the next several months as it aims to improve profitability in the era of online shopping. 
 
 The closures represent about 13 percent to 14 percent of the department store operator's current store count, and less than 5 percent of total annual sales. The company said that it would also initiate a voluntary early retirement program for about 6,000 eligible employees. 
 
 The news came as the Plano, Texas-based chain posted a profit in the fourth-quarter compared to a loss a year ago. But total sales were down slightly, and a key revenue metric declined slightly as well. 
 
 Penney has been recovering from a catastrophic reinvention plan under former CEO Ron Johnson that sent sales and profits into a free-fall in 2012 and 2013. Business stabilized under Mike Ullman, who took the helm in 2013 after Johnson was pushed out. Under Marvin Ellison, who has been CEO since 2015, Penney is looking for new ways to increase sales while improving its e-commerce. But while annual sales still shrunk, what's encouraging is Penney's profit picture. Penney was able to pull in a $1 million profit for the full fiscal year, the first time it earned an annual profit since 2010. 
 
 Like other department stores, J.C. Penney is trying to adjust to changing shopping patterns, and is joining other department stores like Macy's, which are shrinking their store footprint. Consumers are shifting their spending away from clothing and toward experiences like beauty treatments or toward furnishing their home. And when they do pick up clothing, it's more often at off-price stores or online as Amazon moves more into apparel. 
 
 Penney managed to outperform some of its department store rivals, which released results this week. Kohl's Corp. reported Wednesday a drop in fiscal fourth-quarter profit as total sales declined. Revenue at stores opened at least a year dropped 2.2 percent in the quarter. Nordstrom Inc., the department store recently scolded by President Donald Trump, reported late Wednesday a better-than-expected quarterly profit with help from strong sales online and at Nordstrom Rack. But at the Nordstrom brand, comparable store sales decreased 2.7 percent. Macy's, the nation's largest department store chain, says its earnings for the quarter that includes the holiday period dropped nearly 13 percent as results were dragged down by lower sales, store closures and other costs. 
 
 Given the environment, Penney wants to be less dependent on clothing, and is focusing its efforts on its home area and rolling out major appliances in it stores. It has expanded the Sephora beauty shops and is updating its beauty salons, now branded Salon by InStyle. It is also beefing up its store label brands like St. John's Bay. In the fourth quarter, top performing areas included home, Sephora, its salon business and fine jewelry. 
 
 The company is aiming to be more competitive in the digital arena. Penney is arming its store associates with mobile devices to help check out online shoppers who are picking up orders in the store. 
 
 "With a slimmed down store portfolio, (J.C. Penney) will be able to focus on making its remaining stores more of a destination," said Neil Saunders, managing director of retail research firm GlobalData Retail, in a report. "This is essential, as while progress has been made on categories like home, other departments still require attention." 
 
 Penney's Ellison said he understands that closing stores will affect the lives of its employees and that is why it decided to initiate a voluntary early retirement program. He says by coordinating the timing of these two events, he can expect to see a net increase in hiring, as the number of full-time workers expected to take advantage of the early retirement incentive will far exceed the number of full-time positions affected by the closures. 
 
 For the fiscal fourth quarter, J.C. Penney reported net income of $192 million, or 61 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, came to 64 cents per share. 
 
 The results exceeded Wall Street expectations. Analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research were calling for earnings of 61 cents per share. 
 
 Revenue totaled $3.96 billion in the period, down 0.9 percent from a year ago. Analysts polled by Zacks expected $3.97 billion in revenue. 
 
 Sales at stores opened at least a year, a key gauge of a retailer's health, were down 0.7 percent. This figure excludes results from stores recently opened or closed. 
 
 Penney expects full-year earnings in a range of 40 cents to 65 cents per share. 
 
 Shares fell 12 cents to $6.74 before the market open on Friday. 
 
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 Elements of the story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on JCP at https://www.zacks.com/ap/JCP 
 
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– JCPenney says it will be closing 130 to 140 stores over the next several months as it aims to improve online sales, reports the AP. Locations will be announced next month. CEO Marvin Ellison says the company also is offering an early retirement program to 6,000 employees, per the Dallas News. The closures represent about 13% of the chain's stores and less than 5% of total annual sales. The news came as the Texas-based chain posted a profit in the fourth-quarter compared to a loss a year ago. But total sales were down slightly, and a key revenue metric declined slightly as well. JCPenney has been recovering from a catastrophic reinvention plan under former CEO Ron Johnson that sent sales and profits into a free-fall in 2012 and 2013. Business stabilized under Mike Ullman, who took the helm in 2013 after Johnson was pushed out. Under Ellison, who has been CEO since 2015, Penney is looking for new ways to increase sales while improving its e-commerce. But while annual sales were down, what's encouraging is JCPenney's profit picture. It was able to pull in a $1 million profit for the full fiscal year, the first time it earned an annual profit since 2010. JCPenney is joining other department stores like Macy's that are shrinking their footprints amid challenges in the industry.