Tag: jcpenney

JCPenney reveals an unexpected update about the future of 119 stores
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Once a mall staple and a go-to department store for generations of families since 1902, JCPenney has endured turbulent years marked by bankruptcy, mass store closures, and restructuring efforts. Now, as the retailer continues its long road to recovery, another major setback has emerged.

In July 2025, JCPenney entered into a $947 million all-cash deal with private equity firm Onyx Partners Ltd., agreeing to transfer the ownership of 119 store locations. The deal was executed through Copper Property CTL Pass-Through Trust, the entity created during JCPenney’s bankruptcy to hold and dispose of its real estate assets.

Copper Property disclosed that the amendment became effective on July 23 and was non-refundable, thereby guaranteeing the transaction, according to the trust’s press release. Once completed, the trust planned to distribute the proceeds to investors.

Under the terms of the deal, the properties were subject to a triple-net master lease, under which JCPenney remains responsible for all operating costs, including property taxes, insurance, and maintenance. The lease also included limited termination rights for individual locations in specific circumstances, such as property damage or condemnation proceedings.

Despite these arrangements, the trust cautioned that the transaction was contingent on meeting several closing conditions and could not be guaranteed. At the time, all 119 JCPenney stores remained open and operational.

The deal was initially expected to close on September 8, with the trust obligated to sell all properties by January 2026. However, repeated delays ultimately led to an unexpected outcome.

Months later, Copper Property revealed that the nearly $1 billion agreement had failed to close. In a Form 8-K filing dated December 22, the trust issued a notice to Onyx Partners confirming that the agreement would be terminated if the buyer did not complete the transaction by December 26, 2025.

The filing does not specify what would happen to the 119 stores, and JCPenney has yet to issue a public statement addressing the failed deal or the next steps.

JCPenney’s nearly $1 billion property deal falls through, leaving 119 locations in limbo. Shutterstock

This attempted sale dates back to JCPenney’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in May 2020. While the company cited the COVID-19 pandemic as a key factor, it had not been profitable for nearly a decade prior.

As part of its restructuring, CPenney secured $450 million in debtor-in-possession financing to continue operating while reorganizing its business.

The retailer was eventually acquired by Simon Property Group (SPG) and Brookfield Asset Management (BAM) for $1.75 billion, transferring ownership of its retail and operating assets.

Copper Property was created during this process to assume ownership of 160 retail properties and six warehouses. Managed by an affiliate of Hilco Real Estate LLC., the trust is responsible for owning, leasing, and selling those assets.

At the time of its bankruptcy filing, JCPenney closed over 200 stores nationwide. Earlier this year, the retailer confirmed plans to shutter seven additional locations.

Newmark previously owned 121 JCPenney store properties across 35 states. In early 2025, it sold two of those properties, one in Florida and one in Pennsylvania, to the Simon Property Group and Brookfield Asset Management.
- Texas: 21
- California: 19
- Florida: 6
- Michigan: 6
- Illinois: 5
- Ohio: 4
- Arizona: 4
- New Jersey: 4
- Connecticut: 3
- Nevada: 3
- New York: 3
- Oklahoma: 3
- Pennsylvania: 3
- Washington: 3
- Arkansas: 2
- Colorado: 2
- Kentucky: 2
- Maryland: 2
- Missouri: 2
- New Mexico: 2
- Puerto Rico: 2
- Tennessee: 2
- Virginia: 2
- Georgia: 1
- Iowa: 1
- Idaho: 1
- Indiana: 1
- Kansas: 1
- Louisiana: 1
- Massachusetts: 1
- Minnesota: 1
- Mississippi: 1
- North Carolina: 1
- New Hampshire: 1
- Oregon: 1
- Wyoming: 1
Analysts attribute JCPenney’s decline to a major rebranding effort in 2011 under the then-newly appointed CEO, Ron Johnson, who introduced a new logo and redesigned stores to promote a more modern department store concept.

At the same time, JCPenney abandoned its long-standing promotional pricing strategy, replacing frequent sales and coupons with everyday low pricing. It also reduced its private-label offerings to focus on national brands.

The change failed to resonate with its core customers and instead created a perception of higher prices.

“For the JCPenney shopper, the brand experience wasn’t just about the final price paid,” said Marketing Expert Roy Harmon. “It was about the psychological thrill of the hunt. Customers loved the sense of ‘winning’ by stacking coupons and catching a great sale. By removing the discounts, Johnson removed a key source of perceived value and delight. Customers, confused and alienated by the new approach, fled in droves.”

More Store Closures:

As foot traffic and sales declined and competitors got ahead, JCPenney’s debt continued to mount.

“The JCPenney case illustrates the complex dynamics of branding in the modern retail environment,” said Attorney Schuyler Reidel. “While aspirations for revitalization are commendable, they must be grounded in a deep understanding of customer expectations and market realities to achieve successful outcomes.”

The COVID-19 pandemic further added to JCPenney’s challenges, disrupting its supply chain and forcing temporary store closures during an already uncertain time.

Traditional brick-and-mortar retail continues to shrink. Rising operating costs and the rapid growth of e-commerce have reshaped consumer behavior, leaving empty mall storefronts and shuttered stand-alone locations across the country.

With 84.3% of Americans shopping online, U.S. e-commerce spending reached $1.34 trillion in 2024 and is projected to surpass $2.5 trillion in 2030, according to Capital One Shopping.

In 2024, U.S. online sales accounted for 22.3% of global e-commerce spending, up nearly 1.5% from the year prior, and are expected to reach $1.47 trillion in 2025.

Retailers announced 67% more store closures in 2025 than the previous year, according to CoreSight Research.

Related: Why your favorite retail store is going out of business

This story was originally published by TheStreet on Dec 27, 2025, where it first appeared in the Retail section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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December 27, 2025
Why These Small Businesses Are Moving Into Malls

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For decades, small company owners hoping to move their business or expand it to a mall were confounded by a lack of available space, or prohibitively high rents for empty storefronts. Now, as the number of big box and restaurant chains pulling out of those locations increases, the entrepreneurs that want to set up shop in shopping centers once reserved for giants like JCPenny, Macy’s, and Starbucks are finding mall vacancies in many parts of the U.S. — and at times paying lower per-foot rents than those corporate giants.

The list of large companies that have gone bankrupt or closed numerous stores in 2025 has been long, and includes craft chain Joann, Party City, Kohl’s, Big Lots, Claire’s, Dick’s Sporting Goods, and many more. While not all the big retailers and food businesses shuttering outlets have been based exclusively in malls, many maintain sizable footprints in U.S. shopping centers — including Starbucks, which last week announced hundreds of location closures. The subsequent slump in occupancy rates at many malls is now allows many smaller businesses to set up shop in them for the first time.

A recent study by commercial real estate company Cushman & Wakefield estimated the national vacancy rate in malls at 5.8 percent in the second quarter of 2025. While that may not sound high, it represented a 20 basis point increase over Q1, and a 50 point hike since the same period in 2024. That evolution is now leading many owners or managers of underoccupied shopping centers to rethink their earlier aversion to renting to smaller businesses, whose lower cash reserves often prevent them from taking on assured, long-term leases.

Instead, according to a recent report by CNBC, entrepreneurs are not only finding vacant space in malls available to rent. But they’re often also negotiating considerable deals on rent rates, business set up assistance, continual occupancy services, and shorter lease durations from owners. Some shopping centers set aside space for smaller businesses on more flexible terms, in hopes of converting them to longer-term leases, according to ICSC, a trade association of shopping center owners. Not surprisingly, more entrepreneurs want o seize those opportunities to move into shopping centers.

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“That kind of access wasn’t on the table for startups and small businesses three years ago in most metro areas,” Teresha Aird, co-founder and chief marketing officer of the Offices.net real estate brokerage, told the business news channel. “Now it is, and they’re making the most of it to test physical presence without overextending capital… The result is a more flexible, opportunity-rich environment that can be a lifeline for entrepreneurs navigating tight margins and competitive markets.”

The new opportunities for smaller businesses to rent mall space aren’t evenly spread across the country. For example, experts note that availability of nearly any commercial space in the New York City area is so tight that even converted warehouses are tough to lease. But many major U.S. urban centers — especially in medium-sized city centers and inner-ring suburbs of larger cities where big retailers have shut stores — the chances for entrepreneurs to move in on malls are multiplying.

To be sure, some shopping center owners continue betting they have more to gain by waiting for big box, anchor tenant occupants. Rather than renting to entrepreneurs with smaller budget looking for shorter leases at lower costs, many mall managers hold out for so-called “credit tenants” with large enough reserves to sign 5- to 7-year contracts at full market rates.

But an increasing number of mall landlords are feeling enough pressure on their vacancy rates and revenue that they’re now looking to rent to small businesses — even some pop-up stores. Many are even adding sweeteners to bring entrepreneurs aboard.

“In West Des Moines, a family-owned restaurant recently assumed an old chain pizzeria location at a rent of almost 30 percent below the original asking rent,” local real estate broker Jacob Naig told CNBC — adding the owner helped finance the kitchen redesign. “Such a deal wouldn’t have been possible just five years ago.”

There also may be another factor at work in the small business migration to malls. According to a recent study by location intelligence and foot traffic data company Placer.ai, small and niche retail and food companies are helping transform the entire shopping mall experience.

That involves giving consumers used to swooping in for fast, targeted buying blasts reasons to stay longer. Former single-store visitors to malls may now also get medical or wellness treatment, go to the gym, see local service providers, take in a spa, and enjoy a fancier meal than typical food court businesses usually offer.

As part of that, entrepreneurs can take over prime locations that national chains gave up, and add local, quality goods, meals, and services that effectively rebrand some malls. At the same time, they benefit from the work of former corporate occupants, who previously researched and identified those spaces as good for business.

“These spaces already had a site selection review, foot traffic, and locals are used to seeing activity in the space,” said entrepreneur Andy LaPointe, the owner of Michigan gourmet food company Traverse Bay Farms, who told CNBC he now operates locations in two strip malls. “But the magic happens when a small business brings, not a cookie-cutter replacement, but something unique, a place to linger and a sense of belonging… So when a national chain leaves a space, it isn’t just a gap, it’s a canvas for a small, local business to create something lasting.”

And that, after all, is what small businesses do best.

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Bruce Crumley

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October 1, 2025
Woman Finds ‘Time Capsule’ JCPenney Purse From 1994 in Attic | Entrepreneur

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Thrifting and vintage shopping can be an exciting feat, giving people a tangible way to step back into the past and get a first-hand look at history.

Now, one TikToker is going viral for finding a purse from her tween years — and what’s inside has the internet in sentimental stitches.

“I found this purse in my mom’s attic that hasn’t been used since 1994,” she wrote in the video that’s been viewed over 240,000 times. “It’s been up there for almost 30 years and I wasn’t sure what 13-year-old me left in there to find!”

The woman begins by pulling out old notes, photos, and handwritten birthday party invitations (truly a relic of the past) and even an old jolly rancher wrapper from an Arizona brand bag that she said was from JCPenney.

@wedontwannagrowup So, I found this bag (surely from JCPenney) when we went through my mom’s attic. It’s been up there for almost 30 years and I wasn’t sure what 13 year old me left in there to find! #1994 #90s #90saccesories #90steen #90stiktok #treasure #90smemories #90snostalgia #throwback #flashback #wedontwannagrowup #fyp #foryou ♬ Stay (I Missed You) – Lisa Loeb

She then finds a Taco Bell sugar packet with an antique design and an envelope from Walmart that contained photos printed from a disposable camera from when the TikToker was in middle school, of course donning a perm and a Goofy shirt.

There was also a ball from McDonald’s original ball pits of the 90s.

One commenter even pointed out that there was an old-fashioned movie stub to see the 1994 hit “Forrest Gump.”

“You found a Time Machine,” one person wrote in awe.

“This actually made me grieve my childhood,” another lamented. “Wish I could go back.”

The TikToker also posted a follow-up video showcasing a 1994 JCPenney catalog, which was rife with floral prints and oversized shorts.

@wedontwannagrowup The Girls section of the JC Penney’s 1994 Spring/Summer Catalog! #1994 #jcpenney #jcpenneycatalog #90s #90sfashion #90sstyle #90sclothing #ilovethe90s #90sgirl #90shair #nostalgia #throwback #flashback #wedontwannagrowup #fyp #foryou ♬ The Sign (Long Version) – Ace of Base

The TikToker ironically runs a podcast called “We Don’t Wanna Grow Up” which muses on pop culture from the past few decades.

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Emily Rella

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April 10, 2023
JCPenney was once a shopping giant. Can it make a comeback? | CNN Business

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New York
CNN Business
—

Marc Rosen didn’t flinch when he was offered the top job at JCPenney last year.

A stalwart of twentieth-century retail for middle-class Americans seeking affordable clothing and home furnishings, JCPenney has struggled for more than a decade and fell into bankruptcy shortly after the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.

But Rosen, a retail veteran who previously worked at Walmart and Levi’s, said he “did not have any personal hesitancy at all” about trying to revitalize the 120-year-old brand and protect JCPenney from extinction like Barney’s, Lord & Taylor, Century 21 and other shuttered retailers.

“I believe in taking on large scale transformation,” Rosen, 54, told CNN Business in a video interview this month. “There was an opportunity to really take this brand and make it relevant again.”

Rosen is staking his turnaround plan on appealing to “America’s diverse working families.”

The typical customer at JCPenney has a median household income of between $50,000 to $75,000. Roughly 30% of the retailer’s customers are Black, Indigenous and people of color, according to the company, a larger share than many competitors

So JCPenney is chasing these shoppers with an overhauled beauty strategy after a long partnership with Sephora ended. It has remodeled stores and added new major brands and private-label clothing and home furnishings’ labels. The company has also improved its technology and online experience to draw more online sales. Just a quarter of JCPenney’s sales are online, trailing rivals.

Rosen said customers now are shopping at JCPenney more frequently, the first time that has happened for the brand in years, and it’s regaining market share in key departments such as home goods. (JCPenney does not break out sales publicly.)

But there are signs of pressure: visits to all JCPenney stores were down 29% as of October from the same time a year ago, according to data from Placer.ai. In October, traffic to JCPenney’s website increased only 1.26% from a year ago, according to data from SimilarWeb.

Now, a year into Rosen’s tenure, he faces his biggest test at JCPenney yet: the holiday shopping stretch. And it comes at an uncertain moment for the US economy and shoppers.

The company said it’s off to a strong start to the holiday season. But JCPenney’s main customers are feeling strained by the highest inflation in 40 years and they have shown signs of pulling back on discretionary goods— the bulk of what JCPenney sells.

Rosen also has to dig out from years of mismanagement and failed strategies at the company.

The company faces unrelenting pressure from much larger retailers such as Amazon

(AMZN), Walmart

(WMT) and Target

(TGT). TJX

(TJX), the owner of TJMaxx and Marshalls and other “off-price” retailers that have undercut the department stores’ model by selling designer brands at bargain prices.

“The future is going to be a challenging one because it’s difficult for department stores to navigate, even under the best circumstances,” said Erin Schmidt, a senior analyst at Coresight Research, a retail advisory and research firm. “The competition is really fierce.”

JCPenney started as the Golden Rule, a dry goods store, in Kemmerer, Wyoming, in 1902.

Its founder, James Cash Penney, quickly expanded the business and by 1917, there were 175 stores, later renamed JCPenney. By 1929, on the eve of the stock market crash and Great Depression, JCPenney had 1,000 stores.

Its stores were known for their low prices. Merchandise could be bought only with cash, not on credit.

JCPenney survived the Depression and by 1950, Fortune Magazine declared the company the “King of Soft Goods.” Penney himself became known as the “Man with a Thousand Partners.”

By the time he died in 1971, JCPenney had more than 1,600 stores, many in newly-built suburban malls, and was the fifth largest US retailer.

But the company’s mid-market appeal was tested by growing competition during the 1980s and 1990s. Discount stores including Walmart and Target spread, stealing away JCPenney’s budget-conscious customers.

The company was hit hard by the Great Recession in 2008. It lost shoppers to discount stores and struggled to bring them back as the economy began to rebound.

By the end of 2010, JCPenney’s sales had fallen 10% from their 2006 high of about $20 billion, and the company attracted the scrutiny of hedge fund manager Bill Ackman. Ackman bought up a chunk of Penney and installed Ron Johnson, Apple’s former head of stores, as CEO.

Without testing shoppers’ reactions first, JCPenney under Johnson changed its advertisements, its logo and its store designs.

The chain ditched top private-label brands with loyal followings and introduced new ones that had little relevance to its middle-income customers. And it ended coupons, a move that alienated loyal shoppers.

JCPenney’s sales plunged $4.3 billion in 2012, a 25% drop from the previous year. Johnson left in 2013, 17 months into the job.

The company cycled through several CEOs and strategies in the following years and brought back appliances for the first time in decades, a move that didn’t resonate with customers. The company was unprofitable every year beginning in 2011 and its sales fell each year starting in 2015.

In May of 2020, soon after the Covid-19 pandemic began and JCPenney was forced to close stores temporarily, the company filed for bankruptcy after 118 years in business.

At the time, JCPenney had more than 800 stores and 85,000 employees.

JCPenney has around 670 stores today and has little debt for the first time in years.

The company is owned by mall landlords Simon Property Group

(SPG) and Brookfield Asset Management

(BAM). The two firms rescued JCPenney out of bankruptcy for $1.75 billion in the fall of 2020. It was their interest to do so. JCPenney was a key tenant at hundreds of malls and a liquidation would have left vacancies in their shopping centers.

During the bankruptcy process, JCPenney restructured its debt and closed more than 200 stores.

Rosen said JCPenney now has the financial flexibility to invest in upgrading its technology, supply chain and revamping stores under under its new owners.

“That alignment with ownership is critical, especially as you’re going through a transformation that requires significant investment,” he said.

Instead of chasing new shoppers, as several of Rosen’s predecessors tried to do, he has built a strategy centered on convincing existing budget-focused customers to visit more frequently and buy a wider array of goods at JCPenney instead of other stores.

The company is attempting to highlight merchandise and services like hair salons and family portrait offerings that resonate with the its core working-class families. Teachers are the number one profession among its customers, so JCPenney has focused on ensuring stores have clothing they want to wear to work.

JCPenney’s 14-year partnership with Sephora ended in 2020 and it has started to replace many Sephora shops with new beauty departments. Roughly 20% of the products in new beauty areas come from a partnership with Thirteen Lune, an e-commerce company that features brands started by founders of color.

“Customers want to see brands that are brought to them by Brown and Black founders, and they want to see brands that look relevant to their skin types,” Rosen said.

Retail experts say that JCPenney is improving under Rosen and his strategy to target different customers than competitors is shrewd. Stores are better lit than they were before the bankruptcy and top vendors are selling merchandise to the company again.

“A lot of people in the industry wrote them off,” said David Katz, chief marketing officer at Randa Apparel & Accessories, which makes Levi’s, Dockers, Haggar and other brands. “Today, they are a good partner. We’re giving them a lot more financial credit than we used to. We are developing more products for them because we have confidence they’ll be able to sell it effectively.”

Still, JCPenney faces both short-term challenges and long-term questions about its survival.

Inflation is squeezing customers, particularly its middle-income shoppers. It’s not the only retailer facing that problem – Kohl’s said last week that its middle-income customers are buying fewer items when they shop and switching to private brands.

Rosen said that more JCPenney customers are buying the company’s lowest-priced products and switching to its cheaper private brands. The company plans to offer some products at 2019 prices during the holidays, including its St. John’s Bay cable sweater.

The bigger question remains whether there is a place for JCPenney in the changing era of retail and if it can draw younger customers.

Stiff competition has taken a toll on the entire department store landscape, including Kohl’s

(KSS), Nordstrom

(JWN) and Macy’s

(M).

JCPenney can’t solely rely on winning more business from existing shoppers with limited discretionary ability, said Schmidt from Coresight. The chain needs to attract new shoppers, too. But winning new customers has never been harder.

“They’re doing some really good things in terms of their positioning,” Schmidt said. “But the department store is a tough place to be. It will be a challenging road.”

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November 27, 2022