Richmond sees end of era for JCPenney
RICHMOND >> The end is here for JCPenney’s store at Hilltop Mall.
The Richmond store was preparing to shut its doors Monday after 40 years of operation. It is one of 138 JCPenney locations that will shutter this year as part of a plan to shrink its store count as the industry grapples with changes.
The store was a shell of its former self in the days leading up to the closure. By Monday, the street-facing second level of the store was completely empty, save for a few shelving units, and just a handful of clothing racks remained on the bottom level. Signs on windows announced the imminent closure, promoting big discounts. Even fixtures and hardware were up for sale, according to notes and signs throughout the store.
“This is all that’s left,” said a wide-eyed shopper on Monday, looking around at the mostly empty store.
Others were browsing through the racks, taking advantage of the unusual sale.
Shirl Terrell, a Richmond resident, said Friday she was there for the second time in a week after seeing the sale prices. When she came in a day earlier, she saved almost $500 buying up a variety of clothing that had been marked down dramatically. One shirt that would normally have been $38 cost her less than $2, for example.
Throughout the limited inventory, bargains were plentiful in the last few days before the store’s closure. Ties that were once $40 were selling for $3.99, and a suit jacket that was originally marked to sell for $210 was on sale for 80 percent off that price. By Monday, the few items that were left on the floor were marked down to $3 each. Even office supplies such as paper and printer ink were up for sale.
Still, Terrell said, “I’m sad to see the store close.”
JCPenney has been a mall anchor since Hilltop’s opening in 1976. Terrell has lived about three miles away from the mall since 1985, she said, and has enjoyed coming to JCPenney for the selection of items and overall good prices. She said she’ll continue coming to the mall to shop at Macy’s and other stores, for however long they last.
The long-struggling Hilltop Mall was scooped up recently by new owners LBG Real Estate Companies and Aviva Investors. They said last week they plan to make “significant” upgrades to the building exterior, interior common areas and signage surrounding the property. The company also is planning a long-term redevelopment that would allow more than 9,600 housing units at the property as well as office and hotel uses.
But it is unclear what that means for remaining retailers, which include anchors Macy’s, Sears and Walmart, and for now, the closure of JCPenney leaves Hilltop with even more vacant space. JCPenney owns the land where its Hilltop store is, but spokesman Joey Thomas said the company could not comment on what it will do with it after the store’s Monday closure.
The retailer first announced the closure in February, when JCPenney CEO Marvin R. Ellison told investors of the plan to close as many as 140 stores.
“We believe we must take aggressive action to better align our retail operations for sustainable growth,” Ellison said in a company statement then. The company will focus on growing its beauty departments (it has started adding Sephora counters in some stores), home repair and special clothing sizes in stores that will remain.
About 5,000 employees are affected by the closures nationwide. Some will be relocated to other stores, the retailer said. The Richmond store was employing approximately 100 people at the time of the closure announcement.
JCPenney will continue to operate about 900 stores. That includes one at Concord’s Sunvalley Shopping Center, where the store is promoting its 50th anniversary on Thursday. Other locations that remain in the Bay Area include Antioch, Cupertino, Daly City, Fairfield, Hayward, Newark, Pleasanton, San Bruno, San Jose and Santa Rosa, according to JCPenney’s website.
Most of the 138 closing stores began their liquidation sales in April and originally were planned to close in June, but the company rescheduled most of the closures for July 31.
“Since announcing store closures, affected locations have seen betterthan-expected sales and traffic, which is common when store closures are announced,” Thomas said in June. “Traffic typically increases in closing store locations for a variety of reasons, including curiosity, nostalgia and the lure of lower prices.”