JCPenney's Closing 4 Ohio Stores

RICHMOND HEIGHTS, OH - JCPenney's announced Friday that it is closing 138 stores nationally, including four Ohio stores. The company previously announced on Feb. 24 that it planned to consolidate some of its stores.

The Ohio locations being closed, include:

• Richmond Town Square JCPenney's - Richmond Heights
• Findlay Village Mall JCPenney's - Findlay
• New Towne Mall JCPenney's - New Philadelphia
• St. Mary's Square JCPenney's - St. Mary's

The company says the closures should mostly be implemented by June 2017. Across the nation, the consolidations and closures mean approximately 5,000 people will lose their jobs. "Esteemed leaders" will be relocated within the stores, the company says.

The liquidation process for most stores will begin April 17.

“We understand that closing stores will impact the lives of many hard working associates, which is why we have decided to initiate a voluntary early retirement program for approximately 6,000 eligible associates. By coordinating the timing of these two events, we can expect to see a net increase in hiring as the number of full-time associates expected to take advantage of the early retirement incentive will far exceed the number of full-time positions affected by the store closures,” said Marvin R. Ellison, chairman and chief executive officer of JCPenney, in a Feb. 24 statement announcing the closures.

The company said that it would announce the store closures to staff at the impacted locations before it announced the list of closing stores publicly. The company believes it will save approximately $200 million annually as a result of the closures.

“I have a deep appreciation and respect for our associates who are on the front lines working tirelessly to serve our customers every day. Closing a store is never an easy decision, especially given the local impact on valued employees and our most loyal shoppers,” said Ellison in the statement. “While any actions that reduce or exclude our presence in communities across the country is always difficult, it is essential that JCPenney continues to evolve in order to achieve long-term growth and profitability and deliver on shareholder value.”

Photo by Mike Mozart via Flickr used under Creative Commons