STEVE INSKEEP, Host:
NPR's Brett Neely reports on other measures the company is taking to find its footing in a crowded retail environment.
BRETT NEELY: J.C. Penney has been printing a catalog since 1963. At one point in time, Penney's catalog business had billions of dollars a year in sales. But as shoppers have migrated online, retail analyst Patty Edwards says those catalogs are now weighing down the company.
M: The cost of sending the catalogs - it just doesn't make sense when you can do it so much more efficiently on the Web.
NEELY: J.C. Penney wouldn't say how many employees it was laying off. It's also closing a small number of its poorest-performing stores and its entire outlet business. Even through the worst of the recession, Penney has stayed profitable. But Edwards says it has to watch its back.
M: Frankly, J.C. Penney has slowed, and has been left behind, by some of the more nimble, newer players that have gone to a more national stage.
NEELY: Brett Neely, NPR News.