topic Re: Is it true JC Penney is closing in 2018? in Community Chat

Is it true JC Penney is closing in 2018?

homedecor1 — Sun, 29 Oct 2017 01:50:53 GMT

I went to our closest JCP today (1 hr away) and honestly, the store was a disastrous mess! I really was shocked clothes just "thrown" on tables, some on floor, etc. as I say "one hot mess!"

I was looking for girls clothing - horrible to have to dig through mounds of clothing to find size!

The entire store was on "clearance or 60% off". I saw a sales manager & expressed my disappointment in the way the store was. Her answer was we are clearing out excess & customers are messy!

I get in line to pay (25 people before me 2 cashiers to pay🙄). So I strike a conversation up with a lady with a cart load of things - she tells me JCP is closing & today was the start of the liquidation sales. Sad🙁 I always found everything from clothing to home decor.

Then I had to go to Avenue to exchange something -- that store was the same! I asked the salesgirl why the store was a mess (oh the dressing rooms piles of clothes!) - she told me they are closing sometime after Christmas.

Ps: if we think Q sizing is inconsistent then don't go to Avenue I tried on (and hung up & returned to rack) 9 pairs of pants in my normal size - everyone fit differently....ugh!!! I tried on long shirts (my size) -- holy crow they were worse : arms tight, shorter 1 arm from other, length....

Re: Is it true JC Penney is closing in 2018?

golding76 — Sun, 29 Oct 2017 01:23:29 GMT

Online shopping turned out to be a Pandora's Box.

We loved one thing but many evils emerged. I don't have the answer.

Re: Is it true JC Penney is closing in 2018?

smoky22 — Sun, 29 Oct 2017 01:24:30 GMT

Seeing one store in disarray does not mean the entire chain is closing. I find your headline a little irresponsible.

I have 3 JCPenney stores near me and they are all great.

Re: Is it true JC Penney is closing in 2018?

BirdieGal — Sun, 29 Oct 2017 01:34:43 GMT

http://money.cnn.com/2017/10/27/news/companies/jcpenney-losses/

This popped up on my phone news feed this morning.

Re: Is it true JC Penney is closing in 2018?

homedecor1 — Sun, 29 Oct 2017 01:42:21 GMT

@smoky22

I think my subject line was fine IMO! I was asking the ? because I found it hard to believe!

I went to this particular store today as other stores I needed to shop are at this mall (our closest mall is closing many stores have closed such as Macy's, JCP, Bath & Body Works, etc.)

And the store about 45 min. north of me (which I go normally) is always a clean, neat place with many selections. Sales staff is outstanding also!

Re: Is it true JC Penney is closing in 2018?

Mominohio — Sun, 29 Oct 2017 01:43:45 GMT

@smoky22 wrote:
Seeing one store in disarray does not mean the entire chain is closing. I find your headline a little irresponsible.

I have 3 JCPenney stores near me and they are all great.

Since when is a question irresponsible?

And the OP clearly states she was in two different stores, both with the same lacking presentation and in at least one, an actual employee stating they were closing.

If you have a good JCP near you, consider yourself lucky, as most of them are now full of sub standard merchandise, poorly managed, and fighting to stay alive in brick and mortar.

Once my go to store for so many things, I find it hard to spend my money there now. Quality of goods is right up there with Walmart these days.

Re: Is it true JC Penney is closing in 2018?

homedecor1 — Sun, 29 Oct 2017 01:44:06 GMT

@BirdieGal

Well that explains why all apparel was 60% off!!! Thank you!

Re: Is it true JC Penney is closing in 2018?

Snowpuppy — Sun, 29 Oct 2017 01:47:24 GMT

Retailers in all forms stopped listening to their customers years ago.

I stopped at BB&B today, first time in years. Awful plastic cart, only one cart can fit in an aisle at a time. I reach for a pastry brush, all brushes on the peg are tangled together. You couldn't remove just 1. Washcloths. $14.50/ea and junk. I wound up with 2 bed pillows. I don't expect much.

Then we head to HD. I pack of lightbulbs and some glue. Had to walk the entire length of the store to self check out 2 items.

It's their business model. Nothing more.

Re: Is it true JC Penney is closing in 2018?

Bridgegal — Sun, 29 Oct 2017 01:50:51 GMT

@smoky22 wrote:
Seeing one store in disarray does not mean the entire chain is closing. I find your headline a little irresponsible.

I disagree. They announced back in the spring they were closing 140 or so stores, with more to come and a couple of days ago said they'd lost way more money this year than expected. Add of that + messy stores says a lot.

Re: Is it true JC Penney is closing in 2018?

Moonchilde — Sun, 29 Oct 2017 01:57:44 GMT

I’m sure some Penney’s stores will be closing, but not all of them; they don’t appear to be in as bad shape as Sears.

Our local Penney’s has almost finished a complete, every-inch-of-the-store remodel within a mall that’s also undergoing a remodel, and they would never have wasted that $$ if all Penney’s as a chain were going to disappear.

Re: Is it true JC Penney is closing in 2018?

jeanlake — Sun, 29 Oct 2017 02:03:08 GMT

Reasonable question. I thought the same thing. Slipped into a JCP store looking for shorts for my grandson. Oh, my, I hadn't been in the store for a while, but it was set up like a thrift store with huge clearance. I didn't want to rumage through things that had fallen on the floor or unsettled flops of clothing on the table. The first thing I thought was - closing soon? I think it's hard to compete with Macy's more frequent store and online sales if you're a JCP store. JCP used to be my 'back-to-school clothes' store many moons ago.

Re: Is it true JC Penney is closing in 2018?

Lindsays Grandma — Sun, 29 Oct 2017 02:15:14 GMT

My daughter and I were in a JC Penney store last week and it was a mess. There were racks and racks all over the place which made it difficult to get through. There were tables with clothes piled so high it would have taken hours to get through it to find your size. If that was not an indication they were ready to close I don't know what would have been. It was a sad sight to see in a store that I have been shopping in for years in three different states. And we have to consider all the people who are employed who will lose their job, where do they go?

Re: Is it true JC Penney is closing in 2018?

lOVETOSHOP — Sun, 29 Oct 2017 02:31:09 GMT

I'll be upset if our Penney's closes. I live in upstate NY and our mall has undergone changes in the last year. Macy's closed first and then in September, Sears closed. The

only big stores left in the mall are Bon Ton, Burlington and JC Penney's. Our Penney's has always been neat and well stocked. They remodeled it about two years ago and also added a Sephora within the store.

I've always enjoyed Penney's merchandise and still do. I find their Liz Claiborne line to be good with many sales often, and there are a couple other brands I also find to be of good quality. I was just there a couple of weeks ago, and didn't notice any disarray or signs that would indicate the store may be on the verge of closing...so I guess I'll just keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best!

Re: Is it true JC Penney is closing in 2018?

willdob3 — Sun, 29 Oct 2017 03:04:36 GMT

I’ve never seen my local JCP in a horrible mess.

Re: Is it true JC Penney is closing in 2018?

halfpint1 — Sun, 29 Oct 2017 03:10:07 GMT

I hadn't heard that but it was said Sears is having trouble. Both are in the same mall.

Re: Is it true JC Penney is closing in 2018?

SouthernBee — Sun, 29 Oct 2017 03:51:50 GMT

My local JCP has been one of the better ones. I have 3 friends that were employed with JCP. One retired early two years ago when they started downsizing and cutting hours and had worked for over 20 years. Another one was offered early retirement this spring after 3O years. This location no longer has a store of full time employees and operates with a really reduced staff . My other friend has only worked 3 years. Her hours have been reduced but she is considered a store manager without the official title and pay. The other weekend JCP had a huge sale with coupon discounts and only 3 employees for the entire store. My friend closed the store that evening but was an hour late leaving because she was trying to clean and straighten up the racks and tables. She was scheduled to work early the next day . The next day the acting manager - wrote her a bad review for not honoring store policy and working over time! She is desperate to find another job but she is single and in her mid 50s. Very sad. I worked for this JCP while in high school and it always won awards for the region has one the best JCP with top sales and outstanding employees. Our one Sears store close last year. We had 3 Kmarts and our last store closed two weeks ago. SouthernBee

Re: Is it true JC Penney is closing in 2018?

Sooner — Sun, 29 Oct 2017 04:01:31 GMT

I don't know how the Sears store near us stays open. For a couple of years it has been sparsley stocked and a mess. I've only been it twice returning Land's End bathing suits that didn't fit!

Re: Is it true JC Penney is closing in 2018?

smoky22 — Sun, 29 Oct 2017 04:02:25 GMT

Asking a question is one thing, but the headline looked like the OP had some inside information that all JCPenney stores were closing next year. It seemed pretty specific to just be a question. JMO.

Re: Is it true JC Penney is closing in 2018?

Lindsays Grandma — Sun, 29 Oct 2017 04:17:13 GMT

@SouthernBee wrote:
My local JCP has been one of the better ones. I have 3 friends that were employed with JCP. One retired early two years ago when they started downsizing and cutting hours and had worked for over 20 years. Another one was offered early retirement this spring after 3O years. This location no longer has a store of full time employees and operates with a really reduced staff . My other friend has only worked 3 years. Her hours have been reduced but she is considered a store manager without the official title and pay. The other weekend JCP had a huge sale with coupon discounts and only 3 employees for the entire store. My friend closed the store that evening but was an hour late leaving because she was trying to clean and straighten up the racks and tables. She was scheduled to work early the next day . The next day the acting manager - wrote her a bad review for not honoring store policy and working over time! She is desperate to find another job but she is single and in her mid 50s. Very sad. I worked for this JCP while in high school and it always won awards for the region has one the best JCP with top sales and outstanding employees. Our one Sears store close last year. We had 3 Kmarts and our last store closed two weeks ago. SouthernBee

I am so sorry your friend was given a bad review because she stayed late to clean up the mess left by customers. Obviously the manager who did that is an idiot. If she hadn't cleaned up the mess he probably would have given her a bad review for not doing it. Sometimes a person can't win for losing. Many mangers should not be managers but sadly some employers don't seem to know how to pick the right candidates and the ones under them have to suffer because of it.

Re: Is it true JC Penney is closing in 2018?

SouthernBee — Sun, 29 Oct 2017 05:01:37 GMT

@Lindsays Grandma- friend lived up north and moved south 4 years ago to care for a sick relative that later died. Church friends helped her get the job with JCP. She loves JCP but this last year has been very difficult and stressful. She called me yesterday asking for me to do extra prayers for her and if I knew of any other employment ideas. I laughed and said we had lunch at Cici's pizza and they had sign looking for store managers. She said - please no manager jobs or retail. I told her she might be eligible for pizza discount and that would take care of one meal per day. She said she likes me because I always make her laugh. SouthernBee