JC Penney has announced over 150 store closures later this year as its bankruptcy proceedings continue. Unfortunately for local shoppers, the Emporia store at Flinthills Mall is on the list.
JC Penney has not announced closure dates for the stores, but it says closing sales will begin June 12 and could last anywhere from 10-16 weeks. The company, which announced a Chapter 11 filing in mid-May, says the move is designed to focus energy and resources on the chain’s best-performing stores and its online presence.
JC Penney has struggled for years to meet the changing demands of retail shoppers, but it has also had a range of poor business decisions and a revolving door of leadership — all leading to close to $5 billion in losses since 2010, its last profitable year. Projected store sales this fiscal year are expected to be 60 to 70 percent lower than last fiscal year. The final straw, however, was likely coronavirus, which has kept most of the business stores — including the Flinthills Mall store — closed since March.
Calls to the store phone number go to voice mail. KVOE News has also reached out to mall management.
The Texas-based retailer has already closed six stores this year and could close 50 more in another wave of action.
The Emporia store avoided closure in 2017 when JC Penney closed over 140 stores nationwide, including three in Kansas.
