J.C. Penney Loses Caribou Coffee Cafes for Revamped Stores

Caribou Coffee Co. will no longer pursue plans to open shops inside J.C. Penney Co. stores, about six months after Chief Executive Officer Ron Johnson cited the company as a potential partner.

The Minneapolis-based coffee seller won’t be opening stores in J.C. Penney locations and “does not have plans to move forward with a partnership at this time,” Caribou Chief Executive Officer Mike Tattersfield said in an e-mailed statement today. Johnson discussed the cafes during a September tour of a prototype store for analysts and investors. Tattersfield declined to say why Caribou was pulling out.