J.C. Penney Lowest Sales in Decades Show Johnson Stumbles

J.C. Penney Co. slid after the department-store chain lost $4.3 billion in sales in the first year of Chief Executive Officer Ron Johnson’s turnaround plan.

The shares fell 17 percent to $17.57 at the close in New York, the worst performer in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index. J.C. Penney yesterday said its net loss in the quarter ended Feb. 2 widened to $552 million from $87 million a year earlier. The Plano, Texas-based retailer’s annual revenue slid 25 percent to $13 billion, the lowest since at least 1987.