JC Penney Files For Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection

[timanny]

West Valley Mall in Tracy needs to be redeveloped into an outdoor shopping center. Tracy was too small for a decent mall when it was built. It's big enough now, but it's too late. Sears is gone and JCPenney is closing, and it's only a matter of time before that sorely lacking Macy's leaves. Keep Target and Cinemark (if movie theaters survive) and start over.
After a few years when COVID mania is gone and the economy is good again, they can build an upscale outdoor center at 205 and Mountain House with a real two-story Macy's (if they're still around) and maybe a second Dillard's for the valley and Northern California. Mountain House is closer to the Alameda County line and has no amenities currently but would be a better location for a center like that than Naglee or anything in the older parts of Tracy.

[storewanderer]

I am guessing Macy's did not spend much to get into that former Gottschalk's store in Tracy in the first place, and it is really interesting to me they are going to be the last department store anchor in the mall.

JCP closures of orange carpeted stores in Delano and Los Banos aren't real surprising; strip mall closure in Turlock is probably to try to drive customers to whatever other location they have nearby in Modesto. Sad to see that period piece in downtown Delano go but the store was a dump and more in the condition of a bad thrift store than a department store.

I also think the Tracy closure may be an effort to drive traffic to the new and modern freestanding JCP in Manteca.

If Macy's plays its cards right with Backstage and Last Act they can capture customers from these JCP closures. We will see if they can figure out how to do it.

[Alpha8472]

Tracy is a desolate middle of nowhere town. The mall was already dead.

It might survive if they convert to an outdoor outlet mall. People will travel far and wide for one stop outlet discount shopping. They could add a large outdoor dining area or food court with restaurants. It could be quite successful as it does not rain much in Tracy. The weather is mild most of the year. However, large shaded walkways and shaded dining areas are a necessity.

Indoor cinemas are a lost cause. Most of them will go bankrupt soon. The future is in drive in theaters. Tracy has lots of open land, they could have lots of drive in screens. They would be cheap to build. You just need some movie screens and empty lots.

[lake]

It might survive if they convert to an outdoor outlet mall. People will travel far and wide for one stop outlet discount shopping. They could add a large outdoor dining area or food court with restaurants. It could be quite successful as it does not rain much in Tracy. The weather is mild most of the year. However, large shaded walkways and shaded dining areas are a necessity.

Tracy had an outdoor outlet mall, the outdoor outlet mall built 20 mins up the road in Livermore killed it. Between Livermore Outlets, Stoneridge in Pleasanton, and Stockton's decent retail selection, I can't see the mall in Tracy surviving in any retail form.

[timanny]

I am guessing Macy's did not spend much to get into that former Gottschalk's store in Tracy in the first place, and it is really interesting to me they are going to be the last department store anchor in the mall.

JCP closures of orange carpeted stores in Delano and Los Banos aren't real surprising; strip mall closure in Turlock is probably to try to drive customers to whatever other location they have nearby in Modesto. Sad to see that period piece in downtown Delano go but the store was a dump and more in the condition of a bad thrift store than a department store.

I also think the Tracy closure may be an effort to drive traffic to the new and modern freestanding JCP in Manteca.

If Macy's plays its cards right with Backstage and Last Act they can capture customers from these JCP closures. We will see if they can figure out how to do it.

They didn't spend anything to get in. They were paid to go in by a surplus the city had from development fees to keep the mall from going down when Gottschalks went out of business. They had a ten year agreement and that's up this year. So you can see where this is going.

[storewanderer]

They didn't spend anything to get in. They were paid to go in by a surplus the city had from development fees to keep the mall from going down when Gottschalks went out of business. They had a ten year agreement and that's up this year. So you can see where this is going.

I thought Macys redid some of the flooring in the old Gottschalks... I guess it was in pretty good shape when they got it.

Is that Tracy Macys on the "neighborhood store" list or whatever the list is of stores is called they are planning to scale back services at immediately and probably close within the next few years?

[jamcool]

Looking at the list for Arizona they are closing a small town location in Cottonwood and 2 "inner ring" locations in Phoenix and Tucson.

The Phoenix store's demise is probably tied to the demise of the Costco in the same shopping center (one of the few Costcos to close without a new location nearby).

The Tucson store is a bit more perplexing as it's the nearest location to the East side of town but I guess JCPenney doens't like sharing a shopping center with Target and Walmart (both the Tucson and Phoenix locations are in centers anchored by Target AND Walmart).

I assume the Phoenix store is at Christown Spectrum...it would be the second time JCP closed a store there- they were an early tenant when Christown Mall opened in the early 60s, then they moved the store to Metro Center in the 80s, Costco built a store on the former Penney site at Christown. In the 2000s, when Metro Center began to decline, they moved back to Christown (which is now a big box power center)

[arizonaguy]

Looking at the list for Arizona they are closing a small town location in Cottonwood and 2 "inner ring" locations in Phoenix and Tucson.

The Phoenix store's demise is probably tied to the demise of the Costco in the same shopping center (one of the few Costcos to close without a new location nearby).

The Tucson store is a bit more perplexing as it's the nearest location to the East side of town but I guess JCPenney doens't like sharing a shopping center with Target and Walmart (both the Tucson and Phoenix locations are in centers anchored by Target AND Walmart).

I assume the Phoenix store is at Christown Spectrum...it would be the second time JCP closed a store there- they were an early tenant when Christown Mall opened in the early 60s, then they moved the store to Metro Center in the 80s, Costco built a store on the former Penney site at Christown. In the 2000s, when Metro Center began to decline, they moved back to Christown (which is now a big box power center)

The Phoenix store is Christown Spectrum and the Tucson Store is El Con Mall. Both are former "inner ring" enclosed malls that have been converted more or less to big box power centers. Demographics surrounding both are probably similar (although El Con is very close to the University of Arizona campus). The El Con store is a traditional mall anchor building (it's former auto center is now a Firestone).

I'm surprised that they didn't announce the Paradise Valley Mall store is closing. The Christown store is a smaller 50,000 sq. foot single level store versus the 100,000 square foot store at Paradise Valley Mall. It may have to do with whether or not the property is owned versus leased. I believe that JCPenney probably leases the Christown store whereas the Paradise Valley Mall store is owned.

[SamSpade]

Edit to my earlier (spoiler warning hidden) post -
I found out that Moscow, ID no longer has a traditionally anchored mall either. So shoppers in that region will have to drive to Spokane, Boise, or Missoula for regional/traditional shopping needs (or use online ordering I suppose).

As for the Christown JCPenney, my friend in Phoenix would only go there for online pickup. He said the store was small and felt crowded. If he is 'traditionally' shopping, he goes to Paradise Valley Mall.

[buckguy]

They've been retreating from small markets for a long time, so it's not surprising that so many of these closings are in small towns. These are low volume locations in the bigger scheme of things and they probably want to maximize cash flow and efficiency. Some of the metro area stores seem like leftovers from their dry goods days (one of the stores in Akron, Ohio) or dead/dying malls (Northlake & Arbor Place in the Atlanta area, Parmatown in the Cleveland area among others) and also not very surprising.