A J.C. Penney store in Manhattan Mall in New York. Macy’s recently began efforts to close 100 stores, and Sears announced in January it is set to close some 150 locations. J.C. Penney said the affected stores account for less than 5 percent of total sales, and it expects the closures will result in $200 million of annual cost savings. Ellison said the “number of full-time associates expected to take advantage of the early retirement incentive will far exceed the number of full-time positions affected by the store closures.”In addition to getting rid of stores, J.C. Penney plans to close two distribution facilities. And yet the report also demonstrated that J.C. Penney, unlike department store rivals such as Macy’s and Sears, has had improving momentum lately.

Source: Washington Post February 24, 2017 12:56 UTC