JC Penney

[JoshAustin610]

Very few Thrift Drugs had JC Penney Catalog counters; they were only put in larger high volume locations that were far away from existing JCPenney stores.  They did all take the JCPenney credit cards though; CVS also takes them due to the Eckerds they took over in 2004.  I have no idea what store you're talking about that would have been next to a Lacoste store, unless it was an independent clothing store that sold Lacoste products; if there ever was a corporate-run store in the area it would have been in the Lehigh Valley Mall.

[bubcolbert1952]

Very few Thrift Drugs had JC Penney Catalog counters; they were only put in larger high volume locations that were far away from existing JCPenney stores.  They did all take the JCPenney credit cards though; CVS also takes them due to the Eckerds they took over in 2004.  I have no idea what store you're talking about that would have been next to a Lacoste store, unless it was an independent clothing store that sold Lacoste products; if there ever was a corporate-run store in the area it would have been in the Lehigh Valley Mall.

OOPS, I was thinking READING not Allentown. To a repeat Kutztown fair-goer the two start to blend together.

[Retail Fan+ (Justin Hill)]

Since JCPenney changed their logo back to their pre-2011 logo, that will save them money, when it comes to updating the signage on stores built in the 1970s. A lot of the JCPenney locations near me have that logo.

[zonemad96]

They should have never changed it to begin with since their logo didn't look dated.

The one closest to me in Hanover pa closed down their old jcpennys and opened a new two story one sometime in the past 3 years leaving the old store vacant. The kicker is the second story is just offices and not actual retail space, it's like oh here's a second story want to check it out? Oh surprise you can't! Ha Ha! The place looks really nice but it feels kinda too upscale for it's own good I feel like it would make some people feel like the place is to expensive and not give it a chance.

[Stork of The Weak]

The "new"logo hasbeen around at least since 1979, because the Dixie Square Penneys had the "new" logo for a while, and that place closed in 1979.

NOPE... actually that store had the original "Penneys" logo its whole life from 1966-1978, but was given the JCPenney logo in summer 1979 just for the filming of The Blues Brothers.

[MikeRa]

Since JCPenney changed their logo back to their pre-2011 logo, that will save them money, when it comes to updating the signage on stores built in the 1970s. A lot of the JCPenney locations near me have that logo.

Out here in SE PA, most of the JCPenney locations has the 1973-2011 logo, the exception is the Franklin Mills Mall location, which has the 2011 logo.

[ynkeesfn82]

According to 102.9 DRC-FM an Adult Hits formatted radio station in Hartford, Connecticut today is the 112th Anniversary of JCPenney.

[Stork of The Weak]

According to 102.9 DRC-FM an Adult Hits formatted radio station in Hartford, Connecticut today is the 112th Anniversary of JCPenney.

JCPenney wasn't anything like we know it today until the mid 1960s, and adopted their current logo in the summer of 1970. It's strange how they spent tons of money for a name/logo change (from "Penneys" to JCPenney) at that point even though they already had a huge name/logo change (from "J. C. Penney Co." to "Penneys") in 1964.

[ynkeesfn82]

JCP Employees past and present reflect back on more than 42 years of memories at The Meriden, Connecticut store, which was one of 33 to close.

http://www.myrecordjournal.com/meriden/meridennews/4347901-129/close-knit-jc-penney-family-reflects-on-mall-store-closing.html

[TheFugitive]

Very few Thrift Drugs had JC Penney Catalog counters; they were only put in larger high volume locations that were far away from existing JCPenney stores. 

One was in a Thrift Drug location a couple of blocks from my house.  The building is now a Dollar General.
Although there were JC Penney stores at the time in Bridgeville and at Century III Mall, both less than
ten miles away.

[Stork of The Weak]

Very few Thrift Drugs had JC Penney Catalog counters; they were only put in larger high volume locations that were far away from existing JCPenney stores. 

One was in a Thrift Drug location a couple of blocks from my house.  The building is now a Dollar General.
Although there were JC Penney stores at the time in Bridgeville and at Century III Mall, both less than
ten miles away.

Is this the same Thrift Drug/Eckerd/Dollar General you mentioned in the Dollar General thread recently? If so where is this store?

[TheFugitive]

Yes, it is in Baldwin, PA.   Sussex and McNeilly.

[Stork of The Weak]

Yes, it is in Baldwin, PA.   Sussex and McNeilly.

Thanks. So it was a Rite Aid but only for a short time?

[TheFugitive]

Yes, it is in Baldwin, PA.   Sussex and McNeilly.

Thanks. So it was a Rite Aid but only for a short time?

No, about the same time that Thrift became Rite Aid they moved to a new, larger
freestanding store at the intersection of PA Routes 51 and 88.   So far as I recall the
old store closed as a Thrift and the new one opened as Rite Aid.   Probably because
the new location was already on the drawing board, so why waste time and money
rebranding the old one.

I am sure they are regretting that decision now as a massive highway reconstruction
project is underway at that intersection.  You can hardly access that store at the moment.
The work will take more than a year, and I'll be surprised if they can survive their surroundings
being torn up for that long.

[Stork of The Weak]

Yes, it is in Baldwin, PA.   Sussex and McNeilly.

Thanks. So it was a Rite Aid but only for a short time?

No, about the same time that Thrift became Rite Aid they moved to a new, larger
freestanding store at the intersection of PA Routes 51 and 88.   So far as I recall the
old store closed as a Thrift and the new one opened as Rite Aid.   Probably because
the new location was already on the drawing board, so why waste time and money
rebranding the old one.

I am sure they are regretting that decision now as a massive highway reconstruction
project is underway at that intersection.  You can hardly access that store at the moment.
The work will take more than a year, and I'll be surprised if they can survive their surroundings
being torn up for that long.

Just pointing it out that the two instances of "Thrift" above should be "Eckerd"...

But at least one Thrift Drug is now Rite Aid but never was Eckerd in between: https://www.flickr.com/photos/62355920@N00/13320652344/

[TheFugitive]

Actually you are correct.  That new store on Route 51 was an Eckerd when it opened.
It has the signage where they squeezed the Rite Aid name into the blue Eckerd oval.

The other Rite Aid I had mentioned on the Burger King thread has the traditional
Rite Aid shield signage.

[TRU7536]

Just went to West Farms and I saw that Sephora is opening up inside JCPennys. Any other JCPennys are doing this around the country? Kind of weird since Sephora actually has a store inside the mall. Maybe they are starting to do what Macys and many other stores do, mini stores inside their own stores.

[ynkeesfn82]

My friend's wife told me they have a Sephora at the JCP at The Brass Mill mall in Waterbury. She thinks that's probably why they closed the one in Meriden instead of the one in Waterbury.

[Ameskid]

Does anyone know if there are PDFs of late-70s JCP catalogs online?

I'm looking for details on a MCS (JCPenney's house brand for electronics) cassette deck from around then...

[ynkeesfn82]

There was just a report on the business channel CNBC that they expect JC Penney's stock is supposed to do well over the coming months and sales at their stores to increase. However they also said that if the JC Penney is at a mall where Sears has closed, that could negatively impact sales at JC Penney.


Editor's Note: How can Sears being closed negatively impact sales at JC Penney? At the opposite end of the spectrum I've heard that sales are up slightly at Sears in Meriden, CT since the closure of JC Penney in May.

[BillyGr]

There was just a report on the business channel CNBC that they expect JC Penney's stock is supposed to do well over the coming months and sales at their stores to increase. However they also said that if the JC Penney is at a mall where Sears has closed, that could negatively impact sales at JC Penney.

Editor's Note: How can Sears being closed negatively impact sales at JC Penney? At the opposite end of the spectrum I've heard that sales are up slightly at Sears in Meriden, CT since the closure of JC Penney in May.

It does seem backward (you'd think that the sales at the remaining store would increase since the other choice is not there). 
The only logical answer is that if there are two malls (relatively) close that both have Sears and JC Penney and one of the Sears closes, that mall's JC Penney might get less people if people choose to go to the other mall instead to be able to visit both stores in one stop.  Of course, that would only impact sales at ONE store of JE Penney, not the entire chain (sales lost at one location made up by sales increase at the other one).

[retailisking]

At this point Sears is where people go to park when the rest of the mall parking lot is too crowded.

[ynkeesfn82]

Spooky Town Halloween Super Store has taken over the 2nd Floor of the old JC Penney at the Wesfield Meriden Square. I haven't been there yet, so I don't know how much of the 2nd Floor they're using. According to articles about Penney's closing the entire store was 150,000 Square Feet, so if the 2 floors were split equally, each floor is 75,000 Square Feet.

[retailisking]

Despite solid holiday numbers (same-store sales up 3.7%) JCP is closing a number of locations around the country.

Providence, RI closing later this year
http://www.providencejournal.com/news/economy/20150107-jc-penney-to-depart-providence-place-mall-in-2015.ece

Springfield and Greenville, Ohio will close in April
http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/business/jc-penney-closing-two-area-stores/njhq8/

Aitken, SC closing in March
http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/business/2015-01-07/jc-penney-aiken-mall-closing-march?v=1420637376

Kingston, NY closing in April
http://www.dailyfreeman.com/general-news/20150107/jcpenney-leaving-hudson-valley-mall-in-april-store-employs-74

Murrells Inlet, SC closing in March
http://www.wmbfnews.com/story/27783045/jc-penney-to-close-at-inlet-square-mall

Quincy, IL closing in April
http://quincyjournal.com/above-the-fold/2015/01/07/quincys-jc-penney-store-closing-this-spring/

Columbus, OH closing in May
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/business/2015/01/07/eastland-mall-jcpenney-to-close.html

[TheFugitive]

Eastland Mall in Columbus is an interesting one.  Right down the road from their Catalog Distribution
Center.  They used to have a clearance outlet at the DC where you could buy irregulars/scratch and dent/
returned items at bargain-basement prices.  It actually used to be worth the 3 hour drive out there.

Today the interweb is abuzz with rumors of additional Penney store closings coming.

[retailisking]

In total some 40 stores are closing; here's a full list:

[Hudsons81]

In total some 40 stores are closing; here's a full list:

I guess the Adrian Mall is loosing another anchor...they already lost Sears in 2012.

[ynkeesfn82]

I'm surprised the one in Torrington, Connecticut is still open. I heard it's a really small store.

[shore72]

Eastland Mall in Columbus is an interesting one.  Right down the road from their Catalog Distribution
Center.  They used to have a clearance outlet at the DC where you could buy irregulars/scratch and dent/
returned items at bargain-basement prices.  It actually used to be worth the 3 hour drive out there.

Today the interweb is abuzz with rumors of additional Penney store closings coming.

We shopped at that clearance outlet once about 10 years ago; a massive building. My wife was in her glory, and talked about that place for weeks. I think she still wears some of her bargains from that visit.

[BillyGr]

I'm surprised the one in Torrington, Connecticut is still open. I heard it's a really small store.

Perhaps just the location relative to other stores?

As an example, they have a store in Bennington (VT) which is also staying open (unlike the Rutland one that is being closed and is in a mall).  The Bennington store is in a strip plaza with Kmart at one end and Staples at the other (old grocery store).  I haven't been in the JCPenney, but the Kmart is not a huge location and with where Penney is I can't believe that store is either.
However, Bennington area doesn't have any type of mall, and only the Kmart and a smaller Walmart so that may be a reason it stays open.