JCPenney Refresh

[greenfalcon]

My local Stockton, CA JCP has been receiving some attention in the form of refreshing the store. The entirety of the first floor has been re-carpeted, including areas where it was removed during the Johnson era, and the registers were consolidated on the side nearest the parking lot.

They've also begun to repaint the exterior:

https://www.thegreenfalcon.com/IMG_1033.JPG

Not a flattering color scheme.

[ClownLoach]

My local Stockton, CA JCP has been receiving some attention in the form of refreshing the store. The entirety of the first floor has been re-carpeted, including areas where it was removed during the Johnson era, and the registers were consolidated on the side nearest the parking lot.

They've also begun to repaint the exterior:

https://www.thegreenfalcon.com/IMG_1033.JPG

Not a flattering color scheme.

It looks like a tired old store that needs help. I would wait to judge it until it's done. They have been using a black, white and red color scheme in advertisements so I would imagine the store will match.

[storewanderer]

Many of these old department stores need to completely re-do the exteriors. There are probably ways to keep many of the original building elements in place and make the overall building look more modern but it is going to take more than paint.

At least they are doing something.

Meanwhile Sears remains open in Stockton as does Dillards.

Stockton has a better department store variety than most cities. For now. Sears obviously can't be doing great as they don't have much to sell, Dillards actually does quite well in Stockton though; Macys has a rather small store that I thought did okay but it was on one of the rumored closure lists so maybe not...

[buckguy]

My local Stockton, CA JCP has been receiving some attention in the form of refreshing the store. The entirety of the first floor has been re-carpeted, including areas where it was removed during the Johnson era, and the registers were consolidated on the side nearest the parking lot.

They've also begun to repaint the exterior:

https://www.thegreenfalcon.com/IMG_1033.JPG

Not a flattering color scheme.

It looks like a tired old store that needs help. I would wait to judge it until it's done. They have been using a black, white and red color scheme in advertisements so I would imagine the store will match.

That's one ugly store in its current state. The brutalist designs they used in the 70s are dated but look better than cosmetic attempts like this change them. Doing major exterior remodels is likely to have a poor return on investment.

[ClownLoach]

My local Stockton, CA JCP has been receiving some attention in the form of refreshing the store. The entirety of the first floor has been re-carpeted, including areas where it was removed during the Johnson era, and the registers were consolidated on the side nearest the parking lot.

They've also begun to repaint the exterior:

https://www.thegreenfalcon.com/IMG_1033.JPG

Not a flattering color scheme.

It looks like a tired old store that needs help. I would wait to judge it until it's done. They have been using a black, white and red color scheme in advertisements so I would imagine the store will match.

That's one ugly store in its current state. The brutalist designs they used in the 70s are dated but look better than cosmetic attempts like this change them. Doing major exterior remodels is likely to have a poor return on investment.

This isn't even finished. Actually I've seen some excellent results from slight adjustments to these old brutalist designs. Adding color helps especially when it is done in a way to focus the eye on "better parts" of the building and away from the older parts. There is such a prevalent perception that department stores and malls are completely dead that some people are sheepishly posting such fates for malls that have just reached 100% leased. I've even seen posts on social media pointing out construction on new mall expansions calling out the work as "dying mall being demolished." These brands must do something so they appear to be making attempts to modernize and thus change these false perceptions before they become reality. Paint and minor adjustments are not expensive and I believe they would definitely deliver a positive return. I've had stores personally where the sign was changed and facade repainted and for the following 18 months they saw comp sales increases that outpaced other stores in their region with no other justifying reason. So low cost and high reward project.

A good example of tuning up a similar looking structure is in Newport Beach. This was a conversion of an old Robinsons-May that became Bloomingdales. They installed simple metal slats around the old looking building and then built a bold metallic structure over the entrance. It probably would have cost tens of millions to completely redo the exterior to shift to the Italian resort look of the mall. Instead your eyes are focused on the entrance and looking beyond the aged building, then you walk inside and you're instantly in a beautiful 21st century modern department store with excellent lighting and merchandising. If the outside was not tuned up then it would negatively affect the perception of the store.

Unfortunately I am getting the same error others are complaining about when I try to upload photos. Is there anything that can be done about this? I would prefer not to link to Yelp or Google reviews.

[greenfalcon]

My local Stockton, CA JCP has been receiving some attention in the form of refreshing the store. The entirety of the first floor has been re-carpeted, including areas where it was removed during the Johnson era, and the registers were consolidated on the side nearest the parking lot.

They've also begun to repaint the exterior:

https://www.thegreenfalcon.com/IMG_1033.JPG

Not a flattering color scheme.

It looks like a tired old store that needs help. I would wait to judge it until it's done. They have been using a black, white and red color scheme in advertisements so I would imagine the store will match.

I'll definitely agree that it needs some help, it opened in 1974 and has had no exterior work done since. I'm hoping they prove me wrong about these colors.

[greenfalcon]

Many of these old department stores need to completely re-do the exteriors. There are probably ways to keep many of the original building elements in place and make the overall building look more modern but it is going to take more than paint.

At least they are doing something.

Meanwhile Sears remains open in Stockton as does Dillards.

Stockton has a better department store variety than most cities. For now. Sears obviously can't be doing great as they don't have much to sell, Dillards actually does quite well in Stockton though; Macys has a rather small store that I thought did okay but it was on one of the rumored closure lists so maybe not...

This JCP was once slated to be closed:

https://www.recordnet.com/story/news/20 ... 806102007/

It is considered to be on the back side of the mall, but still does okay. The mall itself has stayed at or near leasing capacity for many years.

Visiting the JCP on Saturday the HVAC didn't feel like it was working, very warm. Across the mall at Sears, it was unusually pleasant inside.

The Macy's has become dingy and dark. The recent rains leaked through the upstairs ceiling. Not a surprise that it may be considered for closure, perhaps the only thing keeping it open is that they built the store new in the mid 60s and still own the land.

[greenfalcon]

Unfortunately I am getting the same error others are complaining about when I try to upload photos. Is there anything that can be done about this? I would prefer not to link to Yelp or Google reviews.

Ended up having to use my own domain to host the photo.

[ClownLoach]

JCPenney is spending $1 Billion on store refreshes and remodels to improve their shopping experience according to Brookfield.

I doubt any department store chain has made a comparable investment in years.

Also doubt it will be enough to address all the deferred repairs.

[storewanderer]

Unfortunately I am getting the same error others are complaining about when I try to upload photos. Is there anything that can be done about this? I would prefer not to link to Yelp or Google reviews.

Ended up having to use my own domain to host the photo.

I was trying to go back to old posts and delete photos I previously posted, to make "room" for new photos. That was working for a while but I went back to the Sak N Save post and deleted a bunch more photos from it and then tried to post some photos in new posts, and still couldn't. Not sure how to fix it now.