"As we continue to move through the sale process, our focus will remain on serving our customers and working seamlessly with our vendor partners. We have been a trusted partner to all of our stakeholders since 1902, and we expect to continue that track record for decades to come under the JCPenney banner."

Jill Soltau, chief executive officer of JCPenney, in a company statement issued late last week after the retailer agreed in principle to sell the company through a court-supervised sale process to the mall owners Brookfield Property Group and Simon Property Group.