J.C. Penney Co. sales plunged 45 percent in the second quarter as the department-store chain entered bankruptcy and struggled with an accelerated shift away from physical stores and the COVID-19 outbreak, Bloomberg News reported. Net sales fell to $1.39 billion in the period ended Aug. 1 from $2.51 billion a year earlier, the company reported yesterday in a regulatory filing. The retailer’s lenders have agreed to team up with landlords Simon Property Group Inc. and Brookfield Property Partners to buy the troubled company, which has struggled for years with changing consumer tastes and falling traffic at malls. The outbreak of the pandemic accelerated this trend and prompted its chapter 11 filing in May. The company reported $64 million in advisory fees and $50 million in debtor-in-possession financing fees. Including gains related to the termination of leases, reorganization costs totaled $108 million in the second quarter.
