Huge retail chain closing more stores soon (locations revealed)

You may not realize it, but you pass by a lot of turmoil during your errands or work commute every day.

On that trip, you probably pass by a handful of shopping plazas, restaurants, and perhaps a mall. 

Related: Popular fitness brand franchisee files for Chapter 7 bankruptcy

Many of those businesses, which we all tend to take for granted unless we really need something, have been fighting an uphill battle for years.

It began in the late 2000s, when, thanks to the internet, more people sought things like clothing and household goods online. 

That first round of disruption took out a good number of retailers; consider once-popular places like Radio Shack, Toys R Us, and Blockbuster. 

But things really heated up in the early 2020s. 

Many legacy retail chains, particularly those clustered around malls, had been hanging on for years. They'd absorbed a lot of excess foot traffic, precisely because they were located in popular areas. 

It wasn't the most lucrative model in the world, but it was a relatively stable way to make a reliable income. 

Until, of course, Covid swept the globe and suddenly, malls seemed to fall out of favor overnight. 

Mall retailers have been hit hard

Of course, the declining trend of the shopping mall has been happening over a much longer, more complicated arch. It can't be pinned on Covid or the internet alone. 

In the 1980s and 1990s, when malls were one of the most prevalent shopping locales, the average U.S. consumer spent about 12 hours inside one per month. 

That sounds excessive now, but back then, the average mall hosted over 100 stores. Nowhere else could you gain that kind of access to such variety all in one place. 

So it was almost a given that you'd spend your weekends there.

More closings:

• Iconic ice cream chain unexpectedly closing locations
• Struggling auto parts chain closing down all stores but one
• Another discount retailer closing over 1,000 stores
• Iconic retail chain closing nearly 500 stores

But consumers typically follow the path of least resistance. 

Now, the internet offers us access to thousands of retailers, and ordering what we need is an even smoother process. 

Plus, malls typically charge their tenants outsized rents for the privilege of being located within a massive shopping hub. 

But these rents are harder to justify when your foot traffic numbers simply aren't what they used to be. 

So many high-value tenants have been leaving, which leaves many mall retailers — particularly those large anchor stores — with even less of a draw. 

Top mall retail chain closing more stores soon

Such is the case for JCPenney.

The iconic mall anchor store was at one time synonymous with the prowess of American capitalism; it sold everything from furniture to formalwear. 

Now, however, the retailer has been mired in difficulty. It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2020 after the worst of Covid. 

Its massive fleet of over 2,000 stores at the height of its popularity made it difficult to be agile in a changing consumer climate; shifting operations online was cumbersome and slow. 

Related: Walmart beating Costco in trillion-dollar race (but it's close)

Presently, JCPenney operates just over 600 stores, and it continues to close more. 

And now it plans to close seven stores by the end of May 2025. 

Those stores are: 

• The Shops at Tanforan – San Bruno, California
• The Shops at Northfield – Denver, Colorado
• Pine Ridge Mall – Pocatello, Idaho
• West Ridge Mall – Topeka, Kansas
• Fox Run Mall – Newington, New Hampshire
• Asheville Mall – Asheville, North Carolina
• Charleston Town Center – Charleston, West Virginia

It had planned to shutter an eighth store at the Westfield Annapolis mall location in Annapolis, MD but has since reversed course on that decision. The store will remain open until at least August 31, 2025, after it extended its lease.

The closures are not related to JCPenney's ongoing merger with SPARC Group, which formed Catalyst Brands.