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New Eckerd chief named
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September 22, 2000: 11:10 a.m. ET
J.C. Penney taps grocery executive Harris to run its troubled drugstore chain
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - No. 5 U.S. retailer J.C. Penney Friday tapped supermarket executive Wayne Harris to be chief executive officer of the company's troubled Eckerd drug store chain.
 "Wayne Harris is an outstanding drug and food merchant who will provide great leadership to Eckerd," Penney CEO Allen Questrom said.
In July, Penney's board appointed Questrom, the former chief executive of Barneys New York and of Federated Department Stores Inc., in response to shareholder criticism of the Plano, Texas-based retailer's lagging stock price.
The company picked Harris amid a period of sluggish quarterly results and a massive restructuring that included shutting down 300 of its 2,900 Eckerd drug stores and more than 40 department stores.
After announcing the store closings in February, former Eckerd CEO Frank Newman resigned to take the top spot at Internet retailer more.com. John E. Fesperman, a member of Penney's executive committee, has served as interim chief of Eckerd.
Eckerd, the 4th-largest U.S. drug store chain, has more than $12 billion in annual revenue.
Harris served as CEO of Wayne, N.J.-based supermarket chain Grand Union (GUCO: Research, Estimates) from 1997 to last February. Before joining Grand Union, he was chairman and CEO of the Canadian division of Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Co. (GAP: Research, Estimates). He also served as executive vice president and chief operating officer for A&P's U.S. operations and senior vice president of its northeastern operations.
Shares of J.C. Penney (JCP: Research, Estimates) slipped $1.06 to $12.44 in late trading Friday. 
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J.C. Penney
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