One of the staples of shopping malls across the US announced that several of its stores will be closed by spring of this year.
J.C. Penny (JCP) announced Thursday that about 40 of its stores would be closed by mid April of 2015. It would affect about four percent of the company’s 1,060 stores across the country, and layoffs will number past the 2,200 mark.
This news comes one day after the company announced that holiday sales were up by 3.7 percent. The company’s NYSE value had also increased the day before the announcement.
J.C. Penny follows suit after teen-marketed chain store Wet Seal announced Wednesday that it would close about two-thirds of its line of stores, totaling over 300 and laying off approximately 3700 employees. A month before that, long-time retail competitor Sears announced plans to shut down even more poor-performing stores around the country than originally intended, as well as many partnered K-Mart stores.
With more shoppers heading to online stores, physical businesses have since struggled to stay afloat in these changing times. “We continually evaluate our store portfolio to determine whether there’s a need to close or relocate underperforming stores,” stated J.C. Penny’s spokesman Joey Thomas. “Reviews such as these are essential in meeting our long-term goals for future company growth.”
A full list of the stores affected by this decision, can be found here, courtesy of CBS News.
Are you a regular patron of J.C. Penny? Does this news affect you locally? As always, let us know in the comments below.
Have A Question? Ask Jessica!
-
Jessica: Hi, I'm Jessica, the Consumer Press AI, can I help you with a consumer question?
