JCPenney Spares Peabody, 8 Other MA Locations In Store Closings

PEABODY, MA —JCPenney's locations in Peabody and eight other Massachusetts communities survived a round of store closings that include 154 locations in 38 states.

The closings were the first announced by the retailer since it filed for bankruptcy protection on May 15. The company plans to close a total of 242 stores, or about 30 percent of its 846-store footprint. The company said it will close 192 stores by Februrary 2021 and another 50 stores by the end of next year.

The company could announce it is closing Massachusetts stores in a later announcement. In addition to the Peabody location at the Northshore Mall, JCPenney has stores in Hadley, Holyoke, Leominster, Marlborough, North Attleboro, North Dartmouth, Sturbrdge and Wareham.

"While closing stores is always an extremely difficult decision, our store optimization strategy is vital to ensuring we emerge from both Chapter 11 and the COVID-19 pandemic as a stronger retailer with greater financial flexibility to allow us to continue serving our loyal customers for decades to come," CEO Jill Soltau said in a statement.

As part of Friday's announcement, the company said it is closing four locations in New Hampshire, including stores in Rochester, West Lebanon, Keene and North Conway.