After reporting no quarterly gains since holiday season 2017, J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP) will close six stores and one call center with "an effective closing date of April 24" of this year. News to close additional stores comes after last year when J.C. Penney made an announcement that it would shut nine furniture stores and 18 department stores.
Locations getting the cut this time around are as follows: Missoula, Montana (Southgate Mall), Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (Myrtle Beach Mall), Akron, Ohio (Chapel Hill Mall), Raleigh, North Carolina (North Hills Shopping Center), Tulsa, Oklahoma (Tulsa Promenade), Valley Stream, New York (Green Acres Mall), and Lenexa, Kansas (call center).
"This decision is the result of a careful and ongoing review of our store portfolio," said Brooke Buchanan, J.C. Penney's senior vice president of communications, in a statement. "It's never easy to close a store, however, we feel this is a necessary business decision."
In large part, the move to close six additional stores is part of J.C. Penney's ongoing efforts to respond to continual losses, particularly during the holiday shopping season. Net income in the fourth quarter was down a staggering 64% compared to the year before, resulting in J.C. Penney's total income for the year to drop by 5%.
One possibility for J.C. Penney to turn itself around is to completely rebrand itself as Penney's, which the company is currently testing out in a Hurst, Texas store. In addition to the new name, remodeling in the Texas store includes a different appeal with additions like a video game lounge and yoga studio.
This latest cut still leaves J.C. Penney at roughly 850 stores, however that's down from over 1,100 locations since 2010. In fact, department stores across the board, Macy's (NYSE: M) as one example, have been closing locations at record rates while being hit by retail competitors like Target (NYSE: TGT), Walmart (NYSE: WMT), and Costco (NASDAQ: COST), not to mention the ubiquitous online retail giant Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN).
Indeed, J.C. Penney is no exception to this restructuring trend and no doubt has a turbulent road ahead, even notwithstanding the growing national response to concerns over the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Many businesses currently have temporary closings or limited hours to help slow the spread. As of March 18, J.C. Penney has temporarily closed its offices and stores with the expectation to reopen on April 2.