The JCPenney List and Some Thoughts...

By Kevin Williams

JCPenney released its list of stores to be shuttered over the weekend.   The list is below.  Man, looking through the list there are some small towns that will be clobbered by it in the sense that I don't think some of these places have a lot of department store type options.    For instance, Connersville, Indiana, the closest store to me to close, is a town that doesn't have a lot of shopping options.  People will be forced to drive to Cincinnati or Richmond, Indiana more diverse shopping experiences.   The reason I'm such a Kmart fan and, by extension, JCPenney, is that they  provide competition in the marketplace. Without these retailers, the retail world gets smaller and smaller, I worry one day it'll be just Amazon and Walmart duking it out and that is bad for consumers.  I've been to many of these small towns (about 30 of the towns on the list are ones I've been to) and in the case of, say, a Great Bend, Kansas where the JCPenney is located downtown, the vacancy will leave a real hole.    This is how the Connersville, Indiana newspaper reported their local closing, and I'm sure similar stores ran in small-town papers across the USA this weekend.  The JCPenney stores closest to me are not on the list, but I don't really shop there much anyway.  So, is your hometown JCPenney on the list?

Alabama

Auburn Mall: Auburn
Tannehill Promenade: Bessemer
Gadsden Mall: Gadsden
Jasper Mall: Jasper

Arkansas

Military Plaza: Benton
Chickasaw Plaza: Blytheville

Arizona

Riverview Mall: Bullhead City

California

Downtown Bishop: Bishop
Sunwest Plaza: Lodi
The Village at Orange: Orange
Hilltop Mall: Richmond

Colorado

Fort Morgan Main St.: Fort Morgan
Glenwood Springs Mall: Glenwood Springs
St. Vrain Centre: Longmont
Broadway Plaza: Sterling

Connecticut

Connecticut Post Mall: Milford

Florida

Jacksonville Regional Shopping Center: Jacksonville
Palatka Mall: Palatka

Georgia

Dublin Mall: Dublin
Macon Mall: Macon
Milledgeville Mall: Milledgeville
Gateway Plaza: Thomasville
Tifton Mall: Tifton

Iowa

Downtown Decorah: Decorah
Crossroads Mall: Fort Dodge
Penn Central Mall: Oskaloosa
Quincy Place: Ottumwa

Idaho

Snake River Plaza: Burley

Illinois

Eastland Mall: Bloomington
Fulton Square: Canton
Village Square Mall: Effingham
Freestanding: Macomb
Peru Mall: Peru
Northland Mall: Sterling
Centerpointe of Woodridge: Woodridge

Indiana

FairOaks Mall: Columbus
Connersville Plaza: Connersville
Huntington Plaza: Huntington
Jasper Manor Center: Jasper
Logansport Mall: Logansport

Kansas

Chanute Square: Chanute
Downtown Great Bend: Great Bend
Hutchinson Mall: Hutchinson
Freestanding: Lawrence
Winfield Plaza: Winfield

Louisiana

Cortana Mall: Baton Rouge
Park Terrace: DeRidder
North Shore Square: Slidell

Massachusetts

Berkshire Mall: Lanesborough

Maryland

Easton Marketplace: Easton

Maine

Rockland Plaza Rockland

Michigan

Lakeview Square Mall: Battle Creek
Delta Plaza: Escanaba
Westshore Mall: Holland
Copper Country Mall: Houghton
Birchwood Mall: Kingsford
Midland Mall: Midland
Cascade Crossings: Sault Ste. Marie

Minnesota

Central Lakes Crossing: Baxter
Five Lakes Centre: Fairmont
Faribo West Mall: Faribault
Irongate Plaza: Hibbing
Hutchinson Mall: Hutchinson
Red Wing Mall: Red Wing
Downtown Thief River Falls: Thief River Falls
Freestanding: Winona

Missouri

Maryville Center: Maryville

Mississippi

Leigh Mall: Columbus
Southgate Plaza: Corinth
Greenville Mall: Greenville
Bonita Lakes Mall: Meridian
Oxford Mall: Oxford

Montana

Capital Hill Mall: Helena
Sidney Main Street: Sidney

North Carolina

Albemarle Crossing: Albemarle
Boone Mall: Boone
Eastridge Mall: Gastonia
Blue Ridge Mall: Hendersonville
Monroe Crossing: Monroe
Becker Village Mall: Roanoke Rapids

North Dakota

Prairie Hills Mall: Dickinson
Buffalo Mall: Jamestown
Downtown Wahpeton: Wahpeton

Nebraska

Fremont Mall: Fremont
Downtown McCook: McCook
Platte River Mall: North Platte

New Jersey

Rio Grande Plaza: Rio Grande

Nevada

The Boulevard: Las Vegas

New York

Dunkirk-Fredonia Plaza: Dunkirk
Westfield Sunrise: Massapequa
Palisades Center: West Nyack

Ohio

Findlay Village Mall: Findlay
New Towne Mall: New Philadelphia
Richmond Town Square: Richmond Heights
St. Mary's Square: St. Marys

Oklahoma

Altus Plaza: Altus
Ne-Mar Shopping Center: Claremore
Ponca Plaza: Ponca City
Pioneer Square Shopping Center: Stillwater

Oregon

Astoria Downtown: Astoria
Grants Pass Shopping Center: Grants Pass
La Grande Downtown: La Grande
Downtown Pendleton: Pendleton
The Dalles Main Street: The Dalles

Pennsylvania

Columbia Mall: Bloomsburg
Clearfield Mall: Clearfield
King of Prussia Mall: King of Prussia
Philadelphia Mills: Philadelphia
Bradford Towne Centre: Towanda
Lycoming Mall: Pennsdale
Willow Grove Park: Willow Grove

South Carolina

Citadel Mall: Charleston
Town 'N Country: Easley

South Dakota

Palace Mall: Mitchell
Northridge Plaza: Pierre
Watertown Mall: Watertown
Yankton Mall: Yankton

Tennessee

Greeneville Commons: Greeneville
Knoxville Center: Knoxville
County Market Place: Union City

Texas

Athens Village Shopping Center: Athens
Borger Shopping Plaza: Borger
Heartland Mall: Early
El Paso Downtown: El Paso
Marshall Mall: Marshall
McAllen Downtown: McAllen
University Mall: Nacogdoches
King Plaza Shopping Center: Seguin
Bosque River Center: Stephenville

Virginia

New River Valley Mall: Christiansburg
Tanglewood Mall: Roanoke VA

Washington

Pilchuck Landing: Snohomish

Wisconsin

Pine Tree Mall: Marinette
Marshfield Mall: Marshfield
Richland Square Shopping Center: Richland Center
Rapids Mall: Wisconsin Rapids

West Virginia

Foxcroft Towne Center: Martinsburg

Wyoming

Downtown Sheridan: Sheridan