The J.C. Penney Co., will close its store in the Bradley Square Mall store in Cleveland along with five other Tennessee stores within the next four months as part of a restructuring announced by the bankrupt retail giant.
In what it calls the first step in limiting its costs and losses amid the sales slump during the coronavirus pandemic, JCPenney plans to permanently close 154 locations across the country this summer.
The J.C. Penney's store at Hamilton Place Mall in Chattanooga, which was among 500 Penney's stores to reopen this week after the coronavirus shutdowns of the past two months, was not on a list of planned permanent store closings released Thursday night. But the retailer said it expects additional store closings in coming weeks as it works though a corporate reorganization under the protection of the federal bankruptcy court.
"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," said Jill Soltau, chief executive officer of JCPenney. "I am incredibly grateful to our talented associates for their ongoing dedication and their passion for meeting and exceeding our customers' expectations during this difficult and uncertain time. All impacted associates will be treated with the utmost consideration and respect."
Soltau said even with the closings, J.C. Penney will continue to operate most of its stores and will remain one of the nation's largest apparel and home retailer .
"We will continue to take actions to be best positioned to build on our over 100-year history," she said.
The J.C. Penney store in Cleveland was one of the original anchors in the Bradley Square Mall which opened in 1991.
Within 100 miles of Chattanooga, Penney's also plans to close its store in the Mount Berry Mall in Rome, Ga., the Jackson Square store in Scottsboro, Ala., and the Three Star Mall in McMinnville, Tenn.
J.C. Penney closed its store at Northgate Mall in Chattanooga in 2014 and shut down its store at the Walnut Square Mall in Dalton, Ga., in 2015.
As previously announced on May 15, JCPenney entered into a restructuring support agreement with lenders holding approximately 70% of JCPenney's first lien debt to reduce the company's borrowings and strengthen its balance sheet. To implement the financial restructuring plan, JCPenney filed voluntary petitions for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.