JCPenney Is Closing 8 Stores by Mid-2025. Is a Location Near You Affected?

JCPenney has announced that it is closing eight of its stores by mid-2025. Let’s look to see if a location near you is affected by this announcement.

JCPenney: The 8 Stores Closed

According to PEOPLE, the majority of the JCPenney stores affected by the closures are in malls. These places include the Westfield Annapolis Mall in Annapolis, Maryland; the Pine Ridge Mall in Pocatello, Idaho; the West Ridge Mall in Topeka, Kansas; the Fox Run Mall in Newington, New Hampshire; and the Asheville Mall in Asheville, North Carolina.

The remaining store closings are located in town centers or shopping districts: the Charleston Town Center in Charleston, West Virginia; the Shops at Tanforan in San Bruno, California; and the Shops at Northfield in Denver, Colorado.

While a spokesperson for the store did not return the outlet’s request for comment, the spokesperson did speak to KTTV-TV about the decisions. In addition to claiming that part of the reasoning was “expiring lease agreements, market changes or other factors,” they emphasized that “the decision to close a store is never an easy one.”

“We are grateful to our dedicated associates and the loyal customers who have shopped at these locations,” the spokesperson continued, per the outlet. “We continue to work to make every dollar count for America’s diverse, working families and welcome them to shop at our other JCPenney stores in the area and at JCPenney.com.”

JCPenney filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in early 2020, citing the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent economic fallout as its reason.

The company later resurfaced in December 2020 with new owners, including Brookfield Property Partners and Simon Property Group, with a new strategy to restructure its stores and decrease debt.

Closures First Announced at the Top of the Year

The announcement of the JCPenney store closures isn’t anything new, as the company first announced it was closing some stores at the top of the year. However, this is the first time that the company has said anything about it.

The business remains optimistic about the possibility of the SPARC merger. Despite lackluster financial results in recent months, Marc Rosen, the former CEO of JCPenney and current CEO of Catalyst Brands, indicated that the combination will allow the firms to “leverage our resources and best-in-class industry talent to grow our brands even further.”

The aforementioned “SPARC merger” alludes to the recent combination of the JCPenney brand with Aéropostale’s parent business, resulting in a new firm called “Catalyst Brands.“

Catalyst Brands, together with JCPenney and its exclusive private labels such as Stafford, Arizona, and Liz Claiborne, unifies the SPARC Group’s brands, which include Aéropostale, Brooks Brothers, Eddie Bauer, Lucky Brand, and Nautica. Catalyst Brands has a significant consumer reach due to a strong distribution network that includes owned locations, e-commerce platforms, and wholesale partners.

Kevin Harper, a former Walmart executive, joined Catalyst Brands as its chief operating officer. Marisa Thalberg, a former JCPenney consultant chief marketing and brand officer, now serves as Catalyst Brands’ chief customer and marketing officer.

“Catalyst Brands brings together the rich heritage of six unique brands with modern energy and a new vision for success. The word ‘catalyst’ reflects our drive to accelerate innovation and energy and amplify the impact of this powerhouse portfolio. Together, we bring scale, expertise and broad appeal to customers across America,” Rosen said in a statement accompanying the press release at the time of the original announcement.

“For us, customers are at the heart of what we do. We have a shared belief that customers deserve fashion and style of great quality for any and every moment in life. We will leverage our resources and best-in-class industry talent to grow our brands further,” he added.