J.C. Penney announces list of store closures
TAMPA (FOX 13) - Last month, J.C. Penney announced it is joining its department store rivals in pruning its store numbers in an era of online shopping. Now, we know which locations are closing.
Florida will lose only two stores: The locations at the Jacksonville Regional Shopping Center and the Palatka Mall. That’s in addition to the previously announced closure of the distribution facility in Lakeland.
In all, the retailer is closing 138 stores as it tries to improve profitability, shedding 5,000 jobs. The company earlier said that it would also initiate a voluntary early retirement program for about 6,000 eligible employees.
LINK: See the full list of stores that will close nationwide
J.C. Penney is joining other department stores like Macy's who are shrinking their footprint amid challenges in the industry. Last months’ news came as Penney posted a profit in the fourth-quarter compared to a loss a year ago. The company posted quarterly sales of $3.96 billion, down 0.9 percent from $3.99 billion a year ago.
Revenue at stores opened at least a year was down 0.7 percent.
Most of the listed stores will begin the liquidation process as soon as April 17.