Friday, March 17, 2017

JCPenney's Massive Closures of 2017

JCPenney has released the list of 138 stores that will soon be closing their doors forever. A list of which stores are affected is linked below.

http://www.jcpnewsroom.com/news-releases/2017/assets/0317_list_of_store_closures.pdf

The stores in the Twin Tiers coverage area affected are: 


  • Lycoming Mall, Pennsdale, PA
    • This is bad news for the mall. It has just lost Macy's as an anchor and now it will lose another one of its anchors. With this announcement I feel that the mall has moved from 'B' status to 'C' status. Keep in mind too that Sears remains an anchor.
  • Bloomsburg Mall, Bloomsburg, PA
    • Well this mall is officially doomed. Just Bon Ton and Dunham's Sports remains as anchors to this dead mall. I visited this mall and only a handful of storefronts were open.
  • Clearfield Mall, Clearfield, PA
    • This one is kind of a toss up to me. While closing a store is never good for the community, the mall it anchors isn't much of a mall. It is more of an enclosed plaza with one area that could be considered a mall. I feel like this store shouldn't stay empty if the right store comes into the area. (I'm looking at you Dunham's Sports.)
  • Towanda, PA
    • Plaza store which serves a small community. Not too surprised by this as it is a rather small store. Guess people will be going to the Kmart in the same plaza for clothes.
  • Dunkirk, NY
    • Just like Towanda, this one is a store in a plaza with no mall connection. I can understand this store closing as it is a rather small store. This is one store I have not yet been too and may not make it too.

Can someone please tell me why people like buying things online they can't see in person? Online shopping is killing jobs....

(By the way this is the blog's 100th post.)

7 comments:

  1. Pure laziness. They don't want to get out and fight traffic and crowds to go to a store to try something on to find out it's not in stock or whatever the case may be. Plus they'd have to get dressed to go do it (unlike at Walmart, where jammies are apparently appropriate shoppingwear).

    Congrats on 100 posts!

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    1. Laziness leads to another whole bad thing.... It really is a shame though because so many are losing their jobs.

      Thanks!

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  2. Yep, I agree as far as the laziness goes. Personally I don't like online shopping unless I can't find an item in stores. Then again, I can see its convenience for others, especially the Pickup at Walmart and ClickList at Kroger, for example. Still, it's sad to see the toll it's taking on brick-and-mortar retail, especially considering the number of people who will be losing their jobs.

    AFB notified me about the 5 Mississippi closures this morning. Meridian, Corinth, Columbus, Oxford, and Greenville will all be liquidating. (The document he sent me says the sales should begin April 17th and conclude sometime in June.) I'm going to go to the Oxford store for sure, although the best date for me to do that will probably be just before the sale begins, unfortunately. Of course, with the crowds the liquidation will bring, that may end up working out in my favor! I could also try for Greenville and Columbus, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to make either, or that I even want to. (I'm not experienced taking pictures in mall stores!) I'm surprised Tupelo isn't on the list... I saw an article the other day that said it is one of the lowest performing stores in the chain and would probably be expected to close. Not that I'm complaining, but it'd probably have a better prospect of being retenanted than Greenville does. Oxford almost undoubtedly will just be taken up by Ole Miss like the majority of the old mall.

    Oh, and congratulations on 100 posts from me as well! :)

    ReplyDelete
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    1. I'm fine with Kroger and Walmart having that service since they do have a physical footprint. What I hate about some sites, though is that they don't have to pay employees because they do not have a physical store. These are the sites killed department stores and people's jobs.

      Some of the stores they are closing do surprise me, but I can only imagine the lease or rent is the issue. I noticed the MS stores seemed to be focused around your area.

      Thanks as well.

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    2. I agree.

      Yeah, Oxford is closest to me, but all the rest are in the upper half of the state more or less it seems. I'd imagine poor sales might factor in too, or maybe just the area... I honestly don't know how to explain Greenville's closure.

      You're welcome!

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  3. Yes, congrats on 100 posts!

    I can't say I'm a big fan of online shopping myself. I understand the convenience factor, but I prefer to see and feel something in person before I buy it. The only website I ever buy from frequently is eBay, and that's mostly for older knickknacks or hard to find parts, essentially things that would be extremely difficult to find in a physical store. An online presence of a retailer should compliment its physical stores, not kill them!

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    1. Thanks!

      Ebay is an entirely different shopping platform than what Amazon is. I'm fine with Ebay.

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