Dive Brief:

• J.C. Penney Wednesday said Q1 same-store sales have rebounded and that overall Q1 revenue rose 2.1% to $2.86 million year over year. Losses decreased to $173 million or 55 cents a share, compared to Wall Street’s expected losses of $2.87 million and 76 cents a share.

• J.C. Penney President Marvin Ellison, who will be taking over as CEO, said the retailer’s private labels are doing well and that Easter and Mother’s Day were lucrative holidays for the retailer.

• CEO Mike Ullman, who came in to replace Ron Johnson after the Apple retail guru made a series of poorly received changes, said that shoppers have liked the revamped stores, merchandising, and home catalog. The retailer expects same-store sales to rise 4% to 5%, up from previous guidance of 3% to 5%.

Dive Insight:

This is continuing good news for J.C. Penney, which not long ago seemed doomed. But perhaps not so much for Macy’s, which, as Fortune points out, may be ceding ground to Penney. That could be exacerbated by Macy’s foray into off-price stores, which are just a notch up from its midrange retail and an area of retail in which it has little expertise.