Some of JCPenney's stores are outdated and messy. Business Insider/Hayley Peterson

JCPenney announced first-quarter earnings on Tuesday. Same-store sales were down by 5.5%, following a 6% drop in the previous quarter.

JCPenney's CEO Jill Soltau recently said that the company is failing to deliver on some fundamentals of "good retail."

We visited two mall-based JCPenney stores in Richmond, Virginia, and found empty shelves, messy displays, and abandoned cash registers.

Then we visited a third JCPenney in a strip mall, and we were blown away by the flawless design, layout, and presentation.

JCPenney's new CEO wants to bring its stores back to life.

Jill Soltau, who took over the position in October, said in a recent earnings call that the department-store chain is failing to adequately deliver on some fundamentals of "good retail."

On Tuesday, JCPenney reported first-quarter earnings for 2019; same-store sales during the quarter dropped by 5.5%, following a 6% drop in the previous quarter.

"I am pleased with the strides we've made in setting key objectives, building our senior leadership team, executing significant changes in our assortment, such as eliminating major appliances, and mobilizing the entire organization around our priorities," Soltau said in a press release on Tuesday.

She continued: "JCPenney is an American retail icon that is very important to all of our stakeholders, and I am encouraged by the early signs I am seeing in our business as we work to realize the potential that lies ahead."

We visited two JCPenney stores in Richmond, Virginia in March, and saw empty shelves, messy displays, and abandoned cash registers. The stores, which both anchored enclosed shopping malls, felt outdated and far too large.

Then we visited a third JCPenney store in a strip mall, and we were blown away by the flawless design, layout, and presentation: