It has been a tough few years for senior executives at several major retail chains as performance goals have not been met. And hiring the proper new CEOs has become quite difficult for some firms. Consider this: J.C. Penney, American Eagle Outfitters, and Target are all currently looking for new chief executives — Penney since summer 2013.

Why is so hard to find new retail CEOs? According to Paul Ziobro and Joann Lublin, writing for the Wall Street Journal:

“There isn’t a deep bench of executives who have good track records leading major retailers, so some companies have turned to foreign candidates and executives in other industries, like travel and consumer goods. ‘The half-life of retail leadership has diminished,’ said Mark Cohen, former chief executive of Sears Canada and now a professor at Columbia University. ‘The talent pool is thinner, talent capacity is less, and looking outside the industry is not going work.'”

Click the image for a WSJ video on the challenges of CEO hiring.