Nina Jobst
Research expert covering South Korea
J.C. Penney - Statistics & Facts
J.C. Penney is a department store which carries a wide range of products. It has its roots in the early 20th century in a small Wyoming town and is now a fixture in American malls and shopping centers. In 2020, J.C. Penney was the fifth leading apparel retailer in the United States. Some of its main competitors include TJX, Nordstrom, and Macy’s.
Chapter 11 and subsequent sale to Simon Property Group
The impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on the retail industry had many companies go bust, leading to store closures and job losses. J.C. Penney was one of the retailers that had to apply for Chapter 11, commonly known as a "reorganization bankruptcy" where a business could still have control over its assets and debts. During the process, the retailer was reported to have closed more than 150 of its store locations. This also translated to a high number of job losses associated with J.C. Penney. The company's financial turmoils came to an end in September 2020, when it announced a sales deal with Simon Property Group. The real estate company that boasts a large portfolio of shopping malls and other retail locations now owns J.C. Penney department stores.Financial problems prior to the pandemic
Even before the pandemic hit the retail sector, J.C. Penney had seen a decrease in sales, from about 12.6 billion U.S. dollars in 2015 to 10.7 billion dollars in 2019. J.C. Penney generated the majority of its earnings from apparel sales; especially women’s apparel. In an effort to revitalize their sales and attract more customers in 2007, J.C. Penney began partnering with the cosmetic retailer Sephora by opening mini-Sephora stores within select locations. Despite this strategy, J.C. Penney consistently suffered net losses in recent years. J.C. Penney's store numbers had gone down consistently since 2012 as well.
