NEW YORK: J.C. Penney said Friday that it will be closing anywhere from 130 to 140 stores as well as two distribution centers over the next several months as it aims to improve profitability in the era of online shopping.
The closures represent about 13 percent to 14 percent of the department store operator’s current store count, and less than 5 percent of total annual sales. The company said that it would also initiate a voluntary early retirement program for about 6,000 eligible employees.
CNN reported that the affected locations will be announced by mid-March.
It was not immediately clear whether the closings would impact stores at Chapel Hill Mall in Akron — where J.C. Penney will soon be the last remaining anchor store — Market Square at Montrose in Copley Township, Tri-County Plaza in the village of Lakemore and Canton Centre.
Mike Kohan, whose Great Neck, N.Y.-based Kohan Retail Investment Group owns Chapel Hill Mall, said Friday afternoon that he does not know what J.C. Penney’s plans are for the Akron store.
Kohan learned of the plan to close 130 to 140 stores in a news report Friday morning.
He said he would be “very surprised” if the store were on the list of those to be closed.
“I’m pretty sure they are doing well over there,” he said, noting that last year the Penney’s store added an appliance department, and a Sephora beauty products shop opened within the store.
“It’s two floors. It’s a huge store, Kohan said. “I’m in touch with them, and I think they [local managers] are very satisfied.”
Should the Chapel Hill Penney’s store be among those to close, Kohan said, “that definitely would hurt.”
“We’d definitely have to figure out some type of alternative,” he said.
The cities of Akron, Cuyahoga Falls and Tallmadge have had ongoing concerns about the viability of the mall and have had discussions on how to help the struggling retail site, including rezoning to bring in different kinds of uses there.
Kohan Retail Investment Group, which specializes in distressed malls, purchased Chapel Hill last summer from U.S. Bank for $8.6 million.
Macy’s closed at the mall last spring, before Kohan Retail Investment Group purchased Chapel Hill.
Then early this year, Sears Holdings Corp. said it was closing 26 stores nationwide, including the one at Chapel Hill, which is set to close March 19. An additional nine people at the Sears auto repair store will also lose their jobs.
The news about the J.C. Penney closings came as the Plano, Texas-based chain posted a profit in the fourth-quarter compared to a loss a year ago. But total sales were down slightly, and a key revenue metric declined slightly as well.
Beacon Journal business writer Katie Byard and the Associated Press contributed to this report.