JC Penney Co said the Chief Executive Officer of Saks Inc, Stephen Sadove, would be joining its board of directors. The department store chain said Sadove would officially start his job after JC Penney completes its purchase of Saks by Hudson's Bay.

Yesterday, JC Penney said the decline in sales had slowed this month. The retailer said it expected improvement to continue until the end 2013. JC Penney is still trying to turn itself around from a financial rut after an initial attempt to attract a younger crowd to its stores had failed, Bloomberg reported. Sadove's appointment would reportedly help JC Penney accomplish the task. 

Aside from heading Saks Inc, Sadove is also the Chairman of the Board of the National Retail Federation. He is also a Director for Colgate-Palmolive Co and Ruby Tuesday Inc. Meanwhile, JC Penney also announced that Geraldine Laybourne would be stepping down as a member of the board.