JCPenney considering filing for bankruptcy

Predicting the demise of Sears & Kmart since 2017!
Super S
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JCPenney considering filing for bankruptcy

Post by Super S »

The current Coronavirus situation has apparently pushed JCPenney closer to the edge:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/20 ... 135988002/

While not a complete surprise, it illustrates just how a big event can shake up a retailer already on the edge. There will likely be others before it's all over.
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Re: JCPenney considering filing for bankruptcy

Post by reymann »

i think jcpenney will head for liquidation by the end of the year and they won't be the only department store that will be part of the coronavirus liquidation purge.
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Re: JCPenney considering filing for bankruptcy

Post by cjd »

reymann wrote: April 15th, 2020, 9:37 am i think jcpenney will head for liquidation by the end of the year and they won't be the only department store that will be part of the coronavirus liquidation purge.
Do you think they and others would physically be able to liquidate this year, ie having store locations open at some point this year?
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Re: JCPenney considering filing for bankruptcy

Post by babs »

While I agree JCPenney will file for Chapter 11, I do wonder if a group of landlords may come together and attempt to save some some stores, similar to what happened with Forever 21. The issue these landlords face is that no one is around to take over the leases of Penny stores even in A level malls. All of the major property owners have cut back their capital spending. Bottom line is that these stores will sit empty for years and to avoid having a giant vacant hole in their malls, they might attempt to find a way to keep Penny's around. It's cheaper in the short-run than the other options.
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Re: JCPenney considering filing for bankruptcy

Post by storewanderer »

babs wrote: April 15th, 2020, 8:53 pm While I agree JCPenney will file for Chapter 11, I do wonder if a group of landlords may come together and attempt to save some some stores, similar to what happened with Forever 21. The issue these landlords face is that no one is around to take over the leases of Penny stores even in A level malls. All of the major property owners have cut back their capital spending. Bottom line is that these stores will sit empty for years and to avoid having a giant vacant hole in their malls, they might attempt to find a way to keep Penny's around. It's cheaper in the short-run than the other options.
Did they keep any of the large Forever 21 Stores open (the department store sized ones like downtown Seattle, or Modesto, etc.)? Recall they did this with a block of Aeropostale stores too.

What do you think as far as the costs of operating a giant department store vs. the simple smaller sized Aeropostale or Forever 21? I wonder if that may be too far of a reach for the landlords.

The landlords would be better off creating a new concept entirely than continuing the JCP Concept (assuming they have money to renovate the stores) which is a real loser. What % of JCP Stores are actually in malls? They do have a good number of non-mall stores (a few I can think of are Carson City, NV; Grass Valley, CA; Manteca, CA; Yreka, CA) especially in the middle of the US.

Or convert the JCP Store into apartments. At this point malls need to become more and more multi-use. Many malls have public transportation linkage and as the need for retail space declines, and housing is tight in many places, converting these empty anchor spaces into apartments is probably a somewhat decent idea.
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Re: JCPenney considering filing for bankruptcy

Post by reymann »

jcpenney should be able to reopen this summer long enough to prepare for the liquidators. i'm projecting forever 21 and jcpenney to liquidate post-lockdown as consumer will shy away from the malls for awhile. coworking and activity centers could fill these potential vacancies left by the department stores. fashion fair in fresno could find themselves with two vacant buildings within the coming months.
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Re: JCPenney considering filing for bankruptcy

Post by storewanderer »

I read this loser chain disabled Apple Pay support in its app and on its website yesterday. Last March they disabled it in their stores for no real reason then sheepishly re-enabled it after many people complained.

No reason at all why they should have disabled it in their app or website, they need to get the consumer's money in any possible way the consumer wants to give it to them.

There is something seriously amiss in the culture of this company.
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Re: JCPenney considering filing for bankruptcy

Post by SamSpade »

JCPenney's Sephora partnership is in a difficult discussion at the moment, concerns over furloughs, store cleaning, and more.
https://www.dallasnews.com/business/ret ... ey-stores/
Via the excellent Maria Halkias at Dallas Morning News
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Re: JCPenney considering filing for bankruptcy

Post by storewanderer »

SamSpade wrote: May 4th, 2020, 2:50 pm JCPenney's Sephora partnership is in a difficult discussion at the moment, concerns over furloughs, store cleaning, and more.
https://www.dallasnews.com/business/ret ... ey-stores/
Via the excellent Maria Halkias at Dallas Morning News
Who knows what the issue here is.

But those little JCP Sephora boxes are so small I can see how social distancing would be next to impossible in them, for customers, non customers (people just walking by), and employees. It would definitely be impossible for them to carry out more than one transaction at a time with the social distancing recommendations that are in place. The full size Sephora Store in South Reno that is freestanding appears to be at least 10,000 square feet and you could easily have multiple transactions going on in different parts of the store and have strong social distancing. I am not sure the little box in the Reno JCP is even 1,000 square feet.

Anyway I would say if Sephora wants out of JCP, they should be allowed out. Sephora was brought into JCP during a time when the stores were being redesigned with "shops" and "brands" and when that project stalled. JCP had essentially misrepresented itself to Sephora and at this point I don't see how the department fits in with the current depressing, dirty, messy, downscale, private label heavy JCP operation at all. Sephora needs to release JCP from any non-compete and allow JCP to develop or bring in whatever cosmetics brands it wants (given they can't even fix clothing, I can't see them making any waves with cosmetics). I am sure JCP can find another reputable cosmetics brand to take Sephora's place that wants to sell its products in JCP. After all, malls are full of various cosmetics brands. How hard could it be? Perhaps they can dispatch a grocery wholesaler to set up a mini drugstore like spread of cosmetics. Add in a few racks of canned vegetables while they are at it to be considered a grocery and not demanded closed during the next wave of Coronavirus.

Reminds me of when Land's End left Sears. Sometimes you just have to do what is right for the integrity of your brand. Even if it means reaching fewer customers. And when you leave a place that provides a lousy customer experience that is below what your customers deserve and below what fits with your brand, and that place you leave does not have a comparable product offering for what you took with you, your customers will just follow you to wherever you go anyway (even if that means a website).
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Re: JCPenney considering filing for bankruptcy

Post by veteran+ »

"the current depressing, dirty, messy, downscale, private label heavy JCP operation at all."

Ummmmm, wow!

I agree that it's probably time for Sephora to part ways with JCP for a plethora of reasons (one being, it was a leap of over expansion any ways).

I'm not a big fan of JCP but I have never been in one that deserves the above description. Where have you seen such a store? Sounds awful!

Sears, Kmart......yes a hundred times. Ross, TJMax and the like, YEP. Even many Walmarts fit the bill.
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