J.C. Penney says it will close just 18 department stores, in addition to nine home and furniture shops, in 2019.
That's a far cry from the predictions some analysts were making, calling for more than 100 additional store closures this year.
The retailer is still operating more than 800 locations across the country, and that's likely too many, as fewer shoppers head to antiquated malls to shop. And the department store sector as a whole is increasingly under pressure, with the brands found within those stores selling more directly to consumers, and as more sales moving online to behemoths like Amazon and Walmart.
Penney's management team on Thursday said additional store closures are a possibility in 2020 and beyond.
"I think as we go forward — as we mentioned, we're closing 18 [stores] this year," Treasurer Trent Kruse told analysts. "I think it's safe to assume that as you roll into 2020 and future years, it's likely to see some continuation of that effort. [It's] hard to say now, but I think that's a fair read."
The 18 department stores set for closure during the second quarter of this year are in "tough locations" and are "less productive" when compared against the rest of Penney's fleet, Kruse explained. The company is anticipating recording a pretax charge of about $15 million associated with these closures. It didn't immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment about how many people would be impacted and declined to provide a list of locations.
Penney has been in the process of trimming its real estate for years now. It closed 138 stores in 2017. It closed eight stores last year.
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