JC Penney had failed before they brought him in. It's now just slowly dying. They've even had to sell off their HQ http://fortune.com/2017/01/03/jcpenney-headquarters-debt/

Perhaps, but there was almost no positive returns from his ideas there. He seemed to fundamentally misunderstand the JC Penney customer. I don't think it was a case of abandoning a good plan due to lack of patience, the entire strategy (eliminate sales, make it like a mini mall with its own sub stores) seemed ill conceived and was a disaster.