Relying on which pattern piece you’re studying this week, America’s purchasing malls are both dying a gruesome death or experiencing a Gen Z-driven renaissance.
Whereas it’s true that the complexities of retail don’t vital lend themselves to easy narratives, what’s plain is that many purchasing malls across the nation are affected by some mixture of low foot visitors, excessive emptiness, growing old infrastructure, and modifications in purchasing habits.
Few firms have felt these shifts extra acutely than anchor shops similar to JCPenney—a retail chain as soon as so acquainted in America’s purchasing malls that it will have been exhausting to image a mall with out one.
In newer years, JCPenney has been closing shops and decreasing its nationwide footprint, and 2026 could also be no exception.
In line with a overview of native media reviews, on-line overview platforms, and JCPenney’s personal retailer locator device, a number of places have closed or are anticipated to shut this 12 months.
These embody just a few high-profile places, similar to the shop situated in Chicago’s Ford Metropolis Mall. As reported by the Chicago Tribune, JCPenney had fought to say open there, however the mall just lately closed sooner than anticipated resulting from security issues. The placement was JCPenney’s final retailer in Chicago.
Which JCPenney shops are closing in 2026?
Our overview discovered a minimum of six JCPenney places which have closed or will shut this 12 months, though this is probably not a whole listing. The shops, a few of which have been operational for many years, are situated in six completely different states.
Already closed:
- 1500 Stoneridge Mall Street, Pleasanton, CA 94588
- Seminole Towne Heart, 10 Towne Heart Circle, Sanford, FL 32771
- Ford Metropolis Mall, 7601 S Cicero Ave., Chicago, IL 60652
- Rivergate Mall, 1000 Rivergate Pkwy. Ste 3, Goodlettsville, TN 37072
- Springfield City Heart, 6699 Springfield Mall, Springfield, VA 22150
Anticipated to shut:
- 1006 Ross Park Mall Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15237 (September)
It’s unclear what number of jobs have been misplaced because of these closures or if further closures are anticipated. Quick Firm reached out to JCPenney for extra particulars and can replace this story if we hear again.
Final 12 months, JCPenney additionally closed several stores, most of which have been situated inside malls.
JCPenney isn’t any strange retailer
JCPenney was based in 1902 and hit its peak within the Seventies with greater than 2,000 places.
Lately, the model just isn’t precisely recognized for progress. On the top of the COVID pandemic in 2020, the J.C. Penney Co. sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and instantly introduced a plan to shut a whole bunch of shops.
At this time, the chain is a part of privately held Catalyst Manufacturers, and it has a significantly smaller footprint than it did earlier than the pandemic.
Maybe as a result of the JCPenney model has loomed so giant over the American retail panorama for therefore lengthy, its shuttered places and deserted storefronts can elicit robust feelings amongst shoppers.
Members of native Fb teams, for example, will generally commemorate the death of their neighborhood JCPenney lengthy after the shop is gone, marking main anniversaries with heartfelt posts about what the shop had meant to them.
Final month, a Reddit person posted an eerie slideshow of an empty JCPenney storefront on the positioning’s well-liked “liminal area” subreddit, a discussion board that has gained reputation because the latest launch of A24’s box-office hit Backrooms.
As of this week, JCPenney’s retailer locator device confirmed 641 places in the USA. By comparability, it reported 846 stores to the Securities and Change Fee (SEC) initially of 2020, when the corporate’s inventory was nonetheless publicly traded.
This story is growing and could also be up to date.
