PROFESSOR: JCPenney Under Ron Johnson Is 'An Unmitigated Catastrophe'

Mark Cohen, former CEO of Sears Canada and marketing professor at Columbia University, went on CNBC's Fast Money today to talk about JCPenney.

He slammed CEO Ron Johnson and the changes he has made to the struggling retailer.

"They've just closed their first full year under his watch, which has been an unmitigated catastrophe," he said.

Since JCPenney CEO Ron Johnson started at the company, numbers across the board have nosedived.

The company has had it particularly bad lately, reporting what could be one of the worst retail quarters ever, seeing a key investor run for the hills, and announcing another 2,200 job cuts.

"I guess the question is whether you'd like to see the company go under in the short, medium, or longer term," said Cohen. "This is a crisis that needs prompt and aggressive remediation, because without it, this company's liquidity is going to disappear, and it could very well disappear as a viable enterprise."

So, can JCPenney be saved at all? Cohen doesn't know if it's even possible at this point.

"I'm not entirely sure that JCPenney can be saved," he said. I would suggest they're in a window of opportunity in which prompt and vigorous and appropriate action could be taken that could begin to bring their legacy customer back into their stores.

It's going to require cooperation from all parties involved, from the vendors to the financial community, according to Cohen. JCPenney needs all the support possible to get out of this.