Sephora, which is JCPenney's only make-up retailer, threatened to pull its cosmetics counters out of the department store in an attempt to end its longtime contract with the retailer in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Late April, JC Penney filed a temporary restraining order against Sephora in an attempt to prevent the makeup seller from leaving the department stores, which are in the process of being reopened. "JCPenney filed a temporary restraining order so Sephora could not prevent JCPenney from reopening Sephora inside JCPenney locations," Penney spokesperson Brooke Buchanan said. Sephora and Penney have had a joint enterprise operating agreement since 1 February 2009. "We have been in active discussions with JCPenney regarding our agreement for some time," Sephora said in a statement. "Although this is a sudden and unfortunate development, we are hopeful of continuing discussions and reaching an amicable agreement for both Sephora and JCPenney."

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