Retail Watchers

A couple of JCPenney store closures have been announced:

Elkhart, Indiana:
https://www.wndu.com/2023/01/13/jcpenne ... cord-mall/

Oswego, New York:
https://www.oswegocountynewsnow.com/new ... c69ba.html

That Oswego store looks dire on the outside, but pretty good inside. Obviously low traffic as that interior is 20 years old by now and it looks new.

Elkhart one doesn't look bad inside either, clearly remodeled in the past 20 years, and already has the JCP Beauty Concession inside. Funny they would close a store they spent the money to add that into.

storewanderer wrote: ↑January 17th, 2023, 10:21 pm That Oswego store looks dire on the outside, but pretty good inside. Obviously low traffic as that interior is 20 years old by now and it looks new.

Elkhart one doesn't look bad inside either, clearly remodeled in the past 20 years, and already has the JCP Beauty Concession inside. Funny they would close a store they spent the money to add that into.

Oswego looks like it was something else originally. Korvettes? Jefferson Ward?

Picture caption says WT Grant.

The article says Oswego has all of 40 employees, 6-8 of which are full time (the managers). It can't be doing any volume at all if it takes only 40 people to run the whole store.

Elkhart has video attached where a reporter walks the mall. JCPenney is the only thing open (allegedly there is a Hobby Lobby there too). The entire interior is out of business and the video even shows that sections are cordoned off with metal gates. Sounds to me like JCPenney bet on the wrong horse when they invested in remodeling. You don't remodel a store when the whole mall has closed, you close too.

ClownLoach wrote: ↑January 18th, 2023, 10:22 am The article says Oswego has all of 40 employees, 6-8 of which are full time (the managers). It can't be doing any volume at all if it takes only 40 people to run the whole store.

Elkhart has video attached where a reporter walks the mall. JCPenney is the only thing open (allegedly there is a Hobby Lobby there too). The entire interior is out of business and the video even shows that sections are cordoned off with metal gates. Sounds to me like JCPenney bet on the wrong horse when they invested in remodeling. You don't remodel a store when the whole mall has closed, you close too.

I don't think JC Penney has a clue what they are doing. My guess is part of why they are even surviving and supposedly doing better is because Kohl's has become so lost. My observations over the holiday shopping period were quite surprisingly favorable for JCP in terms of store traffic. I still think JCP is a terrible store, but I think at this point their merchandise is better than Kohls and they appeared to have some better deals too. Then again at this point I think the Wal Mart clothing program is better than Kohls in a lot of categories.

storewanderer wrote: ↑January 18th, 2023, 11:41 pm

ClownLoach wrote: ↑January 18th, 2023, 10:22 am The article says Oswego has all of 40 employees, 6-8 of which are full time (the managers). It can't be doing any volume at all if it takes only 40 people to run the whole store.

Elkhart has video attached where a reporter walks the mall. JCPenney is the only thing open (allegedly there is a Hobby Lobby there too). The entire interior is out of business and the video even shows that sections are cordoned off with metal gates. Sounds to me like JCPenney bet on the wrong horse when they invested in remodeling. You don't remodel a store when the whole mall has closed, you close too.

I don't think JC Penney has a clue what they are doing. My guess is part of why they are even surviving and supposedly doing better is because Kohl's has become so lost. My observations over the holiday shopping period were quite surprisingly favorable for JCP in terms of store traffic. I still think JCP is a terrible store, but I think at this point their merchandise is better than Kohls and they appeared to have some better deals too. Then again at this point I think the Wal Mart clothing program is better than Kohls in a lot of categories.

For at least a couple of decades JCPenney is in the unusual situation where they are worth more in any alive form than dead, but only to the new ownership. I think the only thing they care about is that they break even financially. They don't care if it comps up, down, or sideways. They are making more money charging their mall tenants full rent because JCPenney is open than they spent to buy the company, and until the traditional anchor agreement finally goes extinct they will continue to do so. It doesn't have to be great, they don't have to try hard, they just have to get the participation award each quarter. Slowly but surely they'll close anything that they don't own outright or doesn't have a favorable lease. And there are more favorable leased sites than you might think (I was just reading about a Westfield mall that leases JCP their store for $1/month and has them signed for a few more decades-it's the type of "B" mall that will probably wind up owned by Simon anyway so they can then lower that rent to $0). I continue to be pleasantly surprised when I need "normal not fancy" clothes for special occasions and find JCP has what I need at a fair price when Kohl's is a joke and Macy's might have it ten stores away despite living next to two Gigantic Macy's buildings both less than 25 years old (I'm sure you can figure out where I'm at these days from that comment).

A third closure has been announced in Detroit Lakes, MN.

https://lakesarearadio.net/2023/01/22/j ... F16GC_7Ln0

This appears to be a downtown store which opened in 1963.

For at least a couple of decades JCPenney is in the unusual situation where they are worth more in any alive form than dead, but only to the new ownership.

I am in the unfortunate position of being exposed to a lot of television at the moment. And in both TV I can DVR/fast forward as well as live, I've seen a LOT of Macy's Valentines ads (sort of an unusual look, the sans serif font they start with invokes Target to me, especially with the red); a few Kohl's "February clearance" ads, but not one for JCPenney. I suppose they could be using more digital and email list marketing.

... though I haven't seen Target, Walmart on TV really either.

During the prime store closure period of the year (low inventory, fewer people paying attention), they closed 3 stores, all in small markets. It's probably the least significant store closing news from them in years--so few stores and they continue the theme of continuing the departure from small markets.