Basis of Presentation

J. C. Penney Company, Inc. is a holding company whose principal operating subsidiary is J. C. Penney Corporation, Inc. (JCP). JCP was incorporated in Delaware in 1924, and J. C. Penney Company, Inc. was incorporated in Delaware in 2002, when the holding company structure was implemented. The holding company has no independent assets or operations, and no direct subsidiaries other than JCP. The holding company and its consolidated subsidiaries, including JCP, are collectively referred to in this quarterly report as "we," "us," "our," "ourselves," "jcpenney" or the "Company," unless otherwise indicated.

 

J. C. Penney Company, Inc. is a co-obligor (or guarantor, as appropriate) regarding the payment of principal and interest on JCP's outstanding debt securities. The guarantee of certain of JCP's outstanding debt securities by J. C. Penney Company, Inc. is full and unconditional.

 

These unaudited Interim Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (GAAP) and in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The accompanying unaudited Interim Consolidated Financial Statements, in our opinion, include all material adjustments necessary for a fair presentation and should be read in conjunction with the audited Consolidated Financial Statements and notes thereto in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 29, 2011 (2010 Form 10-K). We follow substantially the same accounting policies to prepare quarterly financial statements as are followed in preparing annual financial statements. A description of such significant accounting policies is included in the 2010 Form 10-K. The January 29, 2011 financial information was derived from the audited Consolidated Financial Statements, with related footnotes, included in the 2010 Form 10-K. Because of the seasonal nature of the retail business, operating results for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the full year.

Fiscal Year

Our fiscal year ends on the Saturday closest to January 31. As used herein, "three months ended October 29, 2011" and "three months ended October 30, 2010" refer to the 13-week periods ended October 29, 2011 and October 30, 2010, respectively. "Nine months ended October 29, 2011," and "nine months ended October 30, 2010," refer to the 39-week periods ended October 29, 2011 and October 30, 2010, respectively.

 

Basis of Consolidation

All significant intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated in consolidation. Certain reclassifications were made to prior year amounts to conform to the current period presentation. Beginning in 2011, pre-opening expenses, previously reported as a separate operating expense line, are included in SG&A expense due to the immaterial nature of such expense in recent years. The impact to the SG&A expense ratio for both the three months and nine months ended October 30, 2010 was an increase of 10 basis points. Beginning in the third quarter of 2011, restructuring and management transition charges were reported as a separate operating expense line. Previously, 2011 charges were included in real estate and other. None of the reclassifications affected our net (loss)/ income in any period.

 

Use of Estimates and Assumptions

The preparation of unaudited Interim Consolidated Financial Statements, in conformity with GAAP, requires us to make assumptions and use estimates that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period.  The most significant estimates relate to: inventory valuation under the retail method; valuation of long-lived assets; estimation of reserves and valuation allowances specifically related to closed stores, insurance, income taxes, litigation and environmental contingencies and pension accounting. While actual results could differ from these estimates, we do not expect the differences, if any, to have a material effect on the unaudited Interim Consolidated Financial Statements.