Myron “Mike” Ullman, who returned to J.C. Penney in April as CEO after the ouster of his successor, the former Apple AAPL -0.81% retail darling Ron Johnson, is rumored to be departing the chain, just four months after retaking the reins,CNBC reports.
Meanwhile, Allen Questrom, who served as J.C. Penney’s CEO from 2000 to 2004, might take the top spot at the troubled department store once again, the report says.
Questrom, who was also CEO of Federated (now Macy's M +0.71%), Neiman Marcus and Barneys New York, is widely considered a merchant prince.
He’s famous for his turnaround skills, including during his stint at J.C. Penney, where he updated the dowdy chain with more trend-right merchandise and revamped its outmoded operating systems.
Since returning to Penney, Ullman has been working to stem huge sales declines by restoring the sales events and coupons that Johnson eliminated during his 17-month stint at the chain, which sparked a massive shopper exodus and sales declines.
But his revival efforts might not be fast enough for investors.
If the report is true that Ullman is out, it suggests that Bill Ackman, the financial wunderkind who has an 18% stock in J.C. Penney, is starting to feel pressure from his hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management, to make yet another change at the top.
“It’s surprising that Ullman might be out . . . a week before the quarter has been announced and it’s only been four months,” since he was hired back, Paul Swinand, an analyst with Morningstar, told Forbes.com.
“It looks kind of fishy.”
J.C. Penney did not respond to a request for comment before publication.
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