JCPenney To Close 242 Stores

LONG ISLAND, NY — Department store giant JCPenney will close 242 of its stores over the next two years, according to reports published Monday.

The 118-year-old chain based in Plano, Texas, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last Friday. There are two JCPenney stores left on Long Island: at the South Shore Mall in Bay Shore and the Roosevelt Field Mall in Garden City.

The 242 store closures – 192 of which will occur February 2021 – represent 29 percent of the retailer's 846 stores, CBS News reported. JCPenney has not said which stores are on the chopping block.

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

"The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has created unprecedented challenges for our families, our loved ones, our communities, and our country," said Jill Soltau, chief executive officer of JCPenney, in a news release.

"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," Soltau said.

JCPenney is the third major retailer to seek bankruptcy protection since the pandemic began. 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.

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.

Reporting by Nicole Charky, Patch Staff