No area J.C. Penney stores closing

Retailer shuttering 138 stores across US

J.C. Penney Co. said Friday it’s closing 138 stores nationwide, but South Florida was spared the axe.

The only Florida closings are stores in Palatka and Jacksonville and a supply facility in Lakeland. In 2013, J.C. Penney closed its outlet at the Sawgrass Mills mall in Sunrise.

The Plano, Texas-based retailer said liquidation sales at the stores designated for elimination will begin April 17. The closings will result in about 5,000 job cuts nationwide, most of which will occur in June.

“JCPenney is in the process of identifying relocation opportunities within the company for esteemed leaders,” the retailer said in announcing the closings.

Outplacement services will be available for those workers not retained, the company said.

Texas has the most closings of any state with nine, while Minnesota has eight. Pennsylvania, Illinois and Michigan have seven each.

In February, J.C. Penney Co., which does business under the JCPenney moniker, announced plans to close stores, saying it was “redirecting capital resources to invest in locations and initiatives that offer the greatest revenue potential.”

J.C. Penney and other national retailers are struggling to adapt to a changing retail landscape. Many consumers say they save time and money by shopping online.

In January, Macy’s said it was closing 68 stores, including one at CityPlace in West Palm Beach, as part of a 100-store purge announced in August 2016.

“Clearly, with the majority of people today, if they need something, they go to their computer instead of the mall,” said Alan Bush, CEO of Northlake Partners, a retail strategy company in West Palm Beach. “There’s usually free shipping, you know the item is in stock, and you don’t have to deal with a surly retail employee trying to get to their lunch hour.”

Still, Katy Welsh, senior vice president of retail services with Colliers International, said she’s not surprised J.C. Penney kept all its stores in South Florida. The retail market here remains strong — so much so that mall operators have plenty of options should an anchor tenant decide to shutter a location, Welsh said.

“If J.C. Penney were to close and hand me back 100,000 square feet, there are so many things I could do with that,” she said. “I could lease that space to three smaller anchors.”

Welsh said the effect of online shopping on brick-and-mortar stores is overrated. While shoppers like the convenience of ordering online, they tend to buy from retailers with local stores in case they need to return the merchandise, she said.