JCP - Could J.C. Penney Survive Without Sephora?
For a minute there it looked like J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP) was about to lose its business partner, Sephora, the beauty and skin care products giant owned by LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton (OTC: LVMUY). Last week, Sephora announced it wanted to end their agreement to operate store-in-store boutiques three years early.
The beauty specialist has been critical to the growth the troubled department store chain has been able to generate, driving traffic that has spilled over into retailer's aisles and clothing racks, but Sephora seems to believe J.C. Penney's precarious financial condition harms its brand, and it wants to make a clean break.
Although the two have temporarily patched up their differences, the more immediate question for investors is, if the two partners go their separate ways, can J.C. Penney survive?