JCPenney to close 7 stores in U.S.

Department chain JCPenney announces plans of closing a total of seven of its locations. The stores that will shutter will be spread across the U.S. over seven different cities.

As part of the company’s annual review, JCPenney decided to close these locations specifically due to their financial reports. The locations include various locations in New York, California, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Utah, Wyoming, and Maryland. According to a statement by the company to WWD by a JCPenney’s spokesman, the locations to be shuttered represent “less than one percent of the company’s total store base.” Additionally, the spokesman said that the annual review revealed that these stores did not mean the company’s financial goals.

It was reported earlier last year that the store would shutter 39 locations in 2016. The reason for these closures were due to underperforming sales. The shuttered stores affected approximately 2,250 full-time and part-time associates. The closure is all part of the company’s plan to focus on smaller stores that perform better. JCPenney seems to continue onward with that strategy as 2016 approaches.