JC Penney Files For Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection

[storewanderer]

Closing a newly remodeled store is very troubling. What is this company thinking? It doesn't even feel like they gave the remodel time to work (or not work). I wonder how much they spent on the remodel. Did they do a grand reopening or anything?

They will be announcing another 40-50 store closures shortly with this batch of liquidations planned to finish by the end of summer.

Concord isn't a bad area at all and that mall is very centrally located to various suburbs with no JCP Store (Walnut Creek, Orinda, Danville, etc.). Maybe I'm still stuck in the 90's and things have changed in Concord.

[buckguy]

Almost all the new closings are in small markets, much like the other recent list.

There can be any number of reasons for the exceptions.....One of them is Prince Georges Plaza in the DC area (which now has a slightly different name that no one uses), a mall that has struggled but still shows signs of life and has benefited from mixed use development nearby. That store is relatively close to one at Wheaton Plaza which has a more robust customer base and is one of those places where anchors do okay but inlines don't, at least in terms of national chains. They may have taken a gamble that Wheaton was a better investment or it may be that they lease is coming up for PG---it and Wheaton were bought when Woodward & Lothrop went under and if there's a 25 year lease on either one, it will end soon. If Concord is in decline, there may be a plan for redevelopment and the landlord could have made a generous offer to buy out the lease.

[SamSpade]

13 more closures.
Washington: Omak, Sunnyside

I had no idea there was a JCPenney in Omak. Omak is very rural.
I had to look on a map to see where Sunnyside, Wa. was, despite living in the region for my entire life. It's between Yakima and the "tri-cities." Looks like it was the lone anchor to a small mall that is really more of a shopping center. I feel for any of their inside tenants.

[Alpha8472]

Closing a newly remodeled store is very troubling. What is this company thinking? It doesn't even feel like they gave the remodel time to work (or not work). I wonder how much they spent on the remodel. Did they do a grand reopening or anything?

They will be announcing another 40-50 store closures shortly with this batch of liquidations planned to finish by the end of summer.

Concord isn't a bad area at all and that mall is very centrally located to various suburbs with no JCP Store (Walnut Creek, Orinda, Danville, etc.). Maybe I'm still stuck in the 90's and things have changed in Concord.

There was a grand reopening, which went mostly unnoticed. They spent months ripping out the store within a store decor, which actually looked nicer. They replaced carpets and repainted the walls. It actually looks much worse. It was a waste of money

Business seems to have gotten worse. Concord is getting very dangerous around the Monument Boulevard area. There are drug related shootings and carjackings. You see hookers on the streets and there is a lot of theft in the area. The Cardenas Market was shoplifted and or robbed practically everyday. It closed after just months of business. The Sunvalley Mall has had rat problems throughout the store. Rat feces were found in food and most of the restaurants in the mall have closed due to rat infestations. This mall is dying and JCPenney is wise to abandon ship. The Food Court was built just a few years ago next to JCPenney and most of the restaurants closed. No one wants to eat among the vicious rat attacks. This place is a disaster.

[J-Man]

That's so sad to hear about Sunvalley. It was the mall of my youth. My mother worked at the Macy's there from its opening day in the late '60s. It was the only enclosed regional mall in the area and was a major destination.

[storewanderer]

There was a grand reopening, which went mostly unnoticed. They spent months ripping out the store within a store decor, which actually looked nicer. They replaced carpets and repainted the walls. It actually looks much worse. It was a waste of money

Business seems to have gotten worse. Concord is getting very dangerous around the Monument Boulevard area. There are drug related shootings and carjackings. You see hookers on the streets and there is a lot of theft in the area. The Cardenas Market was shoplifted and or robbed practically everyday. It closed after just months of business. The Sunvalley Mall has had rat problems throughout the store. Rat feces were found in food and most of the restaurants in the mall have closed due to rat infestations. This mall is dying and JCPenney is wise to abandon ship. The Food Court was built just a few years ago next to JCPenney and most of the restaurants closed. No one wants to eat among the vicious rat attacks. This place is a disaster.

So I wonder if there was damage to the store or some structure issue that forced the remodel? It just seems odd they would do this then close the place a few months later. They do not often remodel stores, so this is really strange. Did they replace signage or just do the interior work?

Sad to hear about that mall, it was a well located mall and should not have turned into a poorly maintained crime magnet. Major management fail there. I think that can be said for many malls.

[Alpha8472]

The outside of the JCPenney was not remodeled. The outside is 1960s era and just as dirty.

The mall is open now for indoor shopping, but about 50 percent of the stores closed due to COVID-19 and have not reopened. There are many vacancies and it is dead quiet most days. There are very few restaurants left, so that really does not bring in customers to the mall. Shoplifting is a major problem at this mall. The losses are staggering.

The only attractions at the mall were the Round1 arcade and 24 Hour Fitness. Those are still closed, so JCPenney is getting no additional customer traffic. The lack of customers is also bad for crime as this mall is notorious for many car break ins and muggings in the parking lot. I feel very unsafe even visiting the Safeway next to JCPenney. Those panhandlers are vicious. One homeless guy beat up a customer inside Safeway the other time I was there. A Safeway employee told me to watch out for the druggies in the store. It is really bad if Safeway employees warn you not to shop in the store for your own safety.

[storewanderer]

Went to JC Penney in Reno Mall today.

They have put some banners on the front of the store now that say "JCP OPEN." Red banners with white background. Didn't they stop marketing themself as JCP? The signs in the window have the old 80's and 90's JC Penney logo. I am confused. I guess someone in the corporate office who orders banners is also confused what their current trade name and logo is.

The first floor of the store this afternoon houses women's, kids, shoes. They have 3-4 cashwraps. Only one cashwrap was open, staffed with two cashiers, and a steady line of 5-6 customers. They seem to take a long time to check each customer out, despite that nobody had more than a couple items. The store had no music playing and overall provides a depressing atmosphere. This store historically has been a good performing JCP but with how it has looked this past holiday season and now, I would not be surprised to see this store go out of business, it feels like they have just flat out given up in this place. Same store manager for years, but something has changed. There is zero attention to detail in their merchandising. The bathing suits continue to be hidden in a no traffic corner with line of sight blocked 100% by an overflowing clearance area and now in the center aisle big displays of winter coats at 85% off between the clearance area and where the bathing suits are to further hide them. I expect they will sell down the 85% off winter coats, right around the time the bathing suits need to go to clearance. Mismerchandised and poorly run fiasco.

[Super S]

They have put some banners on the front of the store now that say "JCP OPEN." Red banners with white background. Didn't they stop marketing themself as JCP? The signs in the window have the old 80's and 90's JC Penney logo. I am confused. I guess someone in the corporate office who orders banners is also confused what their current trade name and logo is.

When you consider that JCPenney reverted to their old logo after the Ron Johnson fiasco, and the current logo on their website is only slightly different, why not use the logo that is the most common one appearing on their stores? Many people aren't paying attention to stuff like that if a banner gets the point across that they are open. JCP (in the font of the JCPenney logo) does appear in road signs at some standalone locations, with JCPenney right below it.

[SamSpade]

Sun valley JCPenney is not going to close now.