J.C. Penney hires former Shopko executive to aid turnaround

Predicting the demise of Sears & Kmart since 2017!
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Re: J.C. Penney hires former Shopko executive to aid turnaround

Post by storewanderer »

BillyGr wrote: January 18th, 2020, 12:14 pm
storewanderer wrote: January 17th, 2020, 6:41 pm Also noticed last week when I went in, the men's restroom in this store is a one person use (lock the door as you go in) restroom. What kind of a major department store in a mall with a big 2 floor 125k sq ft. store has a gas station level bathroom that is one person use? Only JCP.
Older store, I suspect?

I think many of these (one that comes to mind here is a former supermarket that is now a Tractor Supply) probably had two toilets (or perhaps a toilet and a urinal for the men's room) at one time, but were built smaller and thus couldn't provide handicapped access in that configuration.
Rather than spending money to enlarge them, it was probably easier (and cheaper) to remove the second toilet/urinal and make it a one person use restroom.
This is a two level store built in 1978. I am pretty sure it previously had a larger restroom back in the 90's but for some reason they downsized it.
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Re: J.C. Penney hires former Shopko executive to aid turnaround

Post by SamSpade »

I am surprised by that Missoula closure! Fallout with a landlord, maybe? Missoula is one of the healthier MT cities and a regional shopping draw.
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Re: J.C. Penney hires former Shopko executive to aid turnaround

Post by storewanderer »

It looks like that mall in Missoula has been active bringing in other tenants. So now the only department store will be Dillards who expanded into a previous Herbergers space last year also (that is the only expansion/new store project I've heard of out of Dillards last year). Also mall has Lucky's Market and a movie theater. It will be interesting to see what comes of the JCP Space.

Also Kohls is down the street. JCP was unnecessary and redundant. Kohls and Dillards cover the bases pretty well in my opinion. You have Kohls for the mid level stuff and Dillards when you want something better. Thinking about it, those are the only two department stores I purchase from on a regular basis. Sometimes Macys, but that has been less and less the past few years. JCP? Completely useless. I find Sears more useful than JCP (at least they go to 1.97 on junk clearance clothing items, unlike JCP who still tries to get $8-$12 for the junk and tries that for six+ months and counting...).
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Re: J.C. Penney hires former Shopko executive to aid turnaround

Post by arizonaguy »

storewanderer wrote: January 17th, 2020, 6:41 pm They need to close a lot more than 6 stores.

They are in real denial about their position. At the rate they are going and their finances, Sears may be in business longer than they will be.

This is going to come to a quick dramatic end unless something changes real fast (either their sales trends and profitability improve, or they do what is needed and close a significant number of stores, perhaps exiting certain regions entirely).

The condition of the Reno JCP is like a flea market. Years old clearance items in a large fraction of women's clothing. Men's area is in better condition. Very understaffed, dirty, messy store with a very poor layout. Also noticed last week when I went in, the men's restroom in this store is a one person use (lock the door as you go in) restroom. What kind of a major department store in a mall with a big 2 floor 125k sq ft. store has a gas station level bathroom that is one person use? Only JCP.
I walked into the JCPenney today at the Arrowhead Town Center in Glendale, AZ (very much alive mall although 2 recent anchor vacancies with Sears and Forever 21 both closing within the past year). The condition of the store is much like you described. There was clearance clothing everywhere (the store almost felt over merchandised) as racks of clothing was placed on the tile walking path through the store.

The store wasn't dirty and didn't seem understaffed but it certainly was messy. Also, customer count seemed significantly lower than both Dillard's and Macy's at the mall at the same time.

I didn't get a chance to see the men's department (as I was with my two toddlers and was looking at kids shoes/clothing) but it seemed like the regular priced items were a bit on the high side for the quality of merchandise. Sure, some of the clearance deals were good but not great.

I get the distinct impression that they bought way too much inventory that simply isn't moving. However, organizing a store like a hoarder's home isn't going to move inventory any better.

They've also reduced hours at this store (and looking online at other stores). The Arrowhead store is now open 10am - 8pm Monday - Thursday, 10am - 9pm Friday - Saturday, and 11am - 6pm on Sunday.
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Re: J.C. Penney hires former Shopko executive to aid turnaround

Post by storewanderer »

Both JCP in my area have the hours until 9 PM. The Reno one in the mall, I am not surprised as there is traffic there until 9 PM. One of them down in Carson City is a freestanding store and Carson City Stores in general have very, very little traffic after about 7 PM. Not sure why it is still open until 9 PM.

Expanding the locator out a bit I see Roseville in the A+++ mall there closes at 8 M-W, 7 Th, and then 9 Fri-Sat. Also not opening until Noon on Sunday. This is odd because this is a very strong mall.

But other NorCal Stores in less busy malls like Citrus Heights Sunrise have standard 9 PM closing time... stores in smaller secondary markets like Grass Valley and Yuba City have 8 PM closing time but probably always did.
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Re: J.C. Penney hires former Shopko executive to aid turnaround

Post by cjd »

storewanderer wrote: January 22nd, 2020, 9:47 pm Both JCP in my area have the hours until 9 PM. The Reno one in the mall, I am not surprised as there is traffic there until 9 PM. One of them down in Carson City is a freestanding store and Carson City Stores in general have very, very little traffic after about 7 PM. Not sure why it is still open until 9 PM.

Expanding the locator out a bit I see Roseville in the A+++ mall there closes at 8 M-W, 7 Th, and then 9 Fri-Sat. Also not opening until Noon on Sunday. This is odd because this is a very strong mall.
I wonder what the reasoning is for closing an hour earlier on Thursday?
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Re: J.C. Penney hires former Shopko executive to aid turnaround

Post by Alpha8472 »

Possibly a weekly store meeting for employees.
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Re: J.C. Penney hires former Shopko executive to aid turnaround

Post by cjd »

I stopped at JCP Friday evening after not being there in a while. Much the same as last time> It seems more of the floor space is dedicated to things like graphic T shirts at 2/$20, hoodies and what's left of winter wear. Although this year there wasn't really much in the way of nicer things like flannel shirts or coats.

The men's department seems to have the racks spread further apart. There was still a good amount of dress shirts and ties but while I used to like the Van Heusen brand, ones I've bought about 3 years ago were not as good quality as those from 10-12 years ago which I still have. The newer ones have fabric that just does not breathe, although they do still have a nice cut for me at least.

The perpetual clearance racks have been scaled back from a few months ago where they were spilling into the women's section and had included toys. Not much was still on the racks so I think they may have finally cleared most of it out.

The home department has since been a similar situation, since they basically took the former linen department and changed it all to small appliances and pots and pans which is spread out on stainless tables. This only took up a small section near the bed sheets the way they had it before, and this store does not sell a wide selection of these items. For small appliances they only sell the Cooks brand and do not have a wider line such as Kitchen Aid or Cuisinart that are advertised. To me this is another case of trying to fill out the store instead of a wider selection like you'd find in some of their higher sales locations.
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Re: J.C. Penney hires former Shopko executive to aid turnaround

Post by Alpha8472 »

I visited a JCPenney at Stoneridge Mall in Dublin, California a few days ago. The store is in an upper middle class area and there were very few customers.

I saw many aisles of clearance racks with old price tags. The items need to get updated price tags. There were no price scanners according to the only employee I saw. The item I bought was on clearance for so long that the price was just a fraction of the full price. Many items are actually priced lower than the clearance price tags.

Most of the clearance merchandise was old and unappealing. Even in a rich neighborhood, JCPenney seems to be doing poorly. The Sears closed down in January 2019, and the only other competition at the mall is Macy's or Nordstrom.
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Re: J.C. Penney hires former Shopko executive to aid turnaround

Post by SamSpade »

JCPenney is pushing their spring sale in TV ads tonight. What a head scratcher.

I received the email today that Boscov's is temporarily closing, following the lead of Macy's and Nordstrom.
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