No, thankfully. There is only one closing in Maryland and it's on the Eastern shore in a rural county (Easton, in Talbot County.) The town and store are IMO rather nice. Penney's may not want to send their trucks into such a rural area with no other Penny's stores close by.
I notice that the locations that are closing are for the most part in smaller cities. I see some college towns in there. That may leave a number of people without many options if they favor brick-and-mortar stores.
I don't get all of the love for online shopping for clothing, household items, etc. I'm a tactile person. I like to see things in person, touch them, and try them on.
I feel the same way. Penney's has also been especially friendly to teachers as well. They give us special discount days. I love their khaki pants and cotton tops. They are well suited for an active day of teaching, and they wash well.
It was always a treat to go to JCP in Great Falls, Montana and buy clothes when I was a kid. We opened an account after we got married. But the exchange on our dollar and the hassle of doing business across the border just got to be a pain in ass. There used to be a Penney's store 90 miles away...but I imagine it's gone too.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/17/2017 07:19PM by Lethbridge Reprobate.
Our JCP has changed so much over the last year's that it wasn't the welcoming, comfortable store that I liked and the placed I remembered growing up.
I had/have such good memories of JCP, that when my wife and I were traveling in SW Wyoming, we made a special detour to go to Kemmerer,WY and visit the original store. It's something to appreciate the location of something that expanded nationwide.
It all started in a small town of about 2600 people.
I'm surprised there's only one closing in my state. Ironically, it's one I didn't know existed. The ones in the big malls are still going strong.
The last house I sold in Washington was to a J Penny exec. They were the nicest people. I really liked them. I'm happy to see that his store isn't getting closed down.
I think some (small-town) stores are franchise operations, JCP is prolly obligated to supply & service them, But online customers are most likely cutting them too.
Part of the story has been reluctance of on-liners to collect & forward sales taxes, which irks the Brick & Mortar folks.
I could never see the attraction...prices usually a little higher...no hardware....snooze...like sears they seemed to think paying thirty percent more was deserved just cuz the door was open...there must be a segment of society that feels they get more if they pay more...often not the case...jaguar autos for instance...land rovers...cadillac...beemer...troublesome junk with high repair costs and no better than any other rig imo...my boys have been through the land rover beemer itch and always phone dad to see if theres a cheap way to avoid a 4000 brake job...or 700$ oil change...yeah there is...get a little grease under your finger nails...buy jobber parts...and pay yourself 130 an hour...they get this wild idea from salesmen that these are some supercar...naw just more gadgets and higher depreciation...in ten years theyre beaters just like a chevy...sexy is usually expensive...mind you...i never did find pennys sexy...just expensive...and our dollar sucks and blows at the same time...just like perpetual motion...i just giggled when the battery went dead on sons rover and the POS locked him out...great technology there you smirky dweebs..lets see..it wont start lets be sure no one steals the POS and you cant get the hood open...or bonnet as it were....and you have to swear at a beemer in german or it wont listen...car rant over haha...back to you Jim...if women dont find you handsome...they should at least find you handy
I went to the Penney's near where I lived about a year or so ago and there was nothing there at all especially for clothes for us plus sized ladies. There were quite a few empty spends there. How it is not on the closing list is beyond me.
Some cities resist Walmart. When they give in, they at least get some architectural concessions so the exterior of the store isn't quite so hideous. Burley actively courted Walmart and offered tax incentives. Locals thought it represented a step forward.
J.C. Penney used to have downtown stores in Burley and Rupert. When the mall opened, those stores were consolidated. That's been nearly 40 years. Locally owned downtown stores died first, but even a chain like Penney's can't make it there now. There are reasons why, in a state with so much growth in the past few decades, Burley's population and economy have remained stagnant. Each visit back to my homeland is a little more depressing.