DANVILLE, Va. -J.C. Penney Co. Inc. said late Thursday it will be closing 154 stores — including the store in Danville Mall — the near future. The move is part of Penney’s “store optimization strategy” after filing for bankruptcy protection last month.
The closings will begin after a June 11 bankruptcy-related hearing in Texas, the company said. It makes sense to reduce its footprint and focus resources on its strongest stores and “powerful” e-commerce flagship store, jcp.com, the retailer said.
The Plano, Texas-based retailer said it could take about 10 to 16 weeks to complete the closures. The chain is closing two stores in Virginia – at the Danville Mall in Danville and the Colonial Mall in Staunton.
Penney filed for bankruptcy protection last month, making it the biggest retailer to do since the coronavirus pandemic forced non-essential stores to be shut down temporarily. As part of its bankruptcy reorganization, Penney said it planned to permanently close nearly a third of its 846 stores in the next two years. That would leave it with just over 600 locations. This is the first round of closures.
“While closing stores is always an extremely difficult decision, our store optimization strategy is vital to ensuring we emerge from both Chapter 11 and the COVID-19 pandemic as a stronger retailer with greater financial flexibility to allow us to continue serving our loyal customers for decades to come,” Chief Executive Jill Soltau said in a statement.