NJ Chain Retailers Announce Store Closings Due To Coronavirus

Several New Jersey chain retailers are announcing store closures due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Department store giant JCPenney will close 242 of its 846 stores over the next two years. The 118-year-old chain based in Plano, Texas, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this month. The company has not yet said which stores are on the chopping block.

The 242 store closures – 192 of which will occur February 2021 – represent 29 percent of the retailer's 846 stores, CBS News reported.

The company said its financial restructuring is due to the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on retailers.

Last week, Pier 1 said it plans to shut all of its retail stores as soon as possible. Pier 1 has asked the bankruptcy court to cease its retail operations, saying the temporary closures due to the coronavirus pandemic have caused financial ruin on its already shaky status.

Earlier this year, the home furnishings retailer closed half of its stores in an effort to "better align its business with the current operating environment."

The company is now seeking bankruptcy court approval to begin "an orderly wind-down" of its retail stores "as soon as reasonably possible."

Victoria’s Secret announced it will permanently close approximately 250 stores, USA Today reported. Parent company L Brands, which also owns Bath & Body Works, plans to close 50 of those stores as well.

The J.Crew Group filed for bankruptcy earlier this month, and Neiman Marcus said last week it was turning its business over to creditors who provided the company with $675 million in financing to continue operations.

In a news release, executives with JCPenney said the coronavirus pandemic has created "unprecedented challenges."

"As a result, the American retail industry has experienced a profoundly different new reality, requiring JCPenney to make difficult decisions in running our business to protect the safety of our associates and customers and the future of our company," Jill Soltau, chief executive officer of JCPenney, said in the news release.

JCPenney was struggling before the business shutdowns associated with the pandemic. The company has about $4 billion in debt and has been edged out of the marketplace by e-commerce companies and discount brick-and-mortar stores.

With reporting by Nicole Charky, Patch Staff