A major national retailer has ended its run in Emporia.
JC Penney had its final weekend at Flinthills Mall, and shoppers did their best to clear out what was left. Some were brought out by the 90-percent-off deals.
Others were wistful about the loss of JC Penney while hopeful for what the future may bring.
The Emporia store avoided closure in 2017 when JC Penney closed over 140 stores nationwide, and at that time the retailer inked a new deal with Flinthills Mall. However, finances have gone south the past 10 years and it was never able to right the ship. JC Penney lost almost $5 billion in revenues since its last profitable year a decade ago and coronavirus kept most of the chain’s stores, including the Emporia store, closed for several weeks.
Negotiations have been ongoing to sell the company for months. Locally, Flinthills Mall has been working to find a replacement for both JC Penney, which began its closing sale June 12, and Glik’s, which closed suddenly in late April.
