Is JCPenney The Next Sears? | Retail Archaeology

[@RetailArchaeology]

Do you think JCPenney is headed the way of Sears? Also don't forget Retail Archaeology and Siesta Mall t-shirts and more are available in the Retail Archaeology Merch Shop: teespring.com/stores/retail-archaeology

[@SeanStrife]

I think they absolutely are heading the way of Sears. They kind of have the same problem that Sears had; they just can't seem to keep up with the changing trends and everything just seems extremely out of style.

[@jamesbraun9842]

I think JC PENNEY will do better than Sears but eventually go out.

[@ktoledo8315]

I concur. When I was a kid my parents used to get Sunday clothes that were of high quality. I never go because the clothes have gotten cheap feeling and tacky.

[@American-Motors-Corporation]

pennys macys and Khols are the same over priced bullshit stores as sears!! the credit is drying up and incomes are no better so all retailers will fall!! no no it;s not the internet, internet retail sales only make up 8-10% of the entire retail market and is being used as an excuse by shitty management and government trying to cover up the fact our nation is broke!!!!

[@watershed44]

Matthew Henry Exactly. Wall Street is a fraud....but Main Street is flat broke. Most ordinary citizens are living week to week and many have huge amounts of debt, and can't get any more credit.

[@nickl5658]

jcpenney share price in 2007 - $82.16 2018 - $0.95 The numbers speak for itself

[@jacobw446]

Once a company gets below $1.00.. they can not get financing easily, and usually get taken off all stock markets. Radio Shack Died the same way.

[@gordontaylor2815]

@@jacobw446 Indeed, JCPenney is now in danger of getting removed from the NYSE. If that does happen, "the end" will come swift and hard.

[@polarbear2579]

JCP is far better off, from the customer POV, than what Sears was the last few years. The stores, at least near me, are well stocked and staffed, and seem to be doing decent business. I expect they'll have to close more stores, but they're not going to die, as Sears will. They're at least trying. Eddie Lampert's been trying to kill Sears since the 00s.

[@zee3499]

I've worked for the company for years. My store has the highest sales in the district, right near the airport and multiple hotels, we're ALWAYS busy. They'll close stores, but keep profitable ones open for sure.

[@Donde_Lieta]

I use to work at JCP and Sephora inside JCP, and I honestly think that their deal with sephora in 2006 literally saved the company. But I think they are still really hurting

[@Donde_Lieta]

Also- YSL black opium is an amazing perfume!

[@AKayfabe]

ErinTheSoprano Sephora being popular and has a lot of sales in spite of mall issues, definitely draw in people to JC Penney for Sephora items.

[@tackyman2011]

Your thumbnail: WOW! no stalker

[@Donde_Lieta]

A Kayfabe yes, the one I worked at was a 3 million $ store, and it was in a nowhere town in Pennsylvania, but we somehow had higher sales than all other sephoras inside JCP as well as the free standing ones, including the bigger cities. Always found that super strange. Even though SEPHORA brought in more money than any other department, we still got crap from higher-ups for not pushing the JCP credit card enough.

[@Donde_Lieta]

tackyman2011 just my boring old face 😂 lol

[@chochowilliams]

I had no idea JCPenny was struggling. My local JCPenny is always packed.

[@Chatzkas]

Same

[@Mercy2Mee]

Mine as well!

[@Mrtfarrugia]

How many stray cups did you find? We all know that is the litmus test.

[@rosewhite259]

"Too little too late" really sums up JCP. It's sad in a way that they are failing because they truly tried to get with the times and update their business. Unfortunately, they waited way too long to make these changes.

[@brentad2004]

Yes, like Blockbuster.

[@wolfgang1097]

Unfortunately, JCPenney will be filing for bankruptcy by the end of this week.

[@davinp]

JCPenny was packed on Black Friday while Sears was a ghost town. The JCPenny at my mall is busy and has a Sephoie store inside. This JCPenny is smaller because it is a single level outlet type mall

[@cesariojpn]

3:06 "Quietest Area" = potential area for shoplifters to hide and steal stuff from elsewhere.

[@brownbuter]

you must be a shoplifter

[@DavidLLambertmobile]

Lowes is a easy hit for LP & theft. They have a corp SOP not to chase crooks or shop lifters 🚓🙄...

[@cesariojpn]

@@brownbuter Former LP Officer.

[@1rockcrawford]

@@brownbuter or someone who works in retail. Anyone who has a career in it, will tell you that a quiet, unobserved part of a department store, probably has had incidences of theft.

[@Cerulean0987]

Theft is rampant in some of these stores and many of the stores don't have security at the doors. Buzzers go off and no one stops to question. I think it has a lot with consumer rights not to be searched, plus it is dangerous to start accusing strangers.

[@Karmy.]

I enjoy wandering around JCP so I'd be sad to see them go like Sears Also 3:50 was great

[@DavidLLambertmobile]

My friend strolled around a big Orlando FL area JCP location. Like 90min... uggggh.... 😫

[@RichLux713]

Jc penny going down next

[@PrimxInxTeal]

LOVE YA SO MAAAACH RICH

[@Boces1988]

Rich luxth

[@fab4fan5]

Riiiiccchhhhh in da house

[@unique32journalist]

I thought about this the other day! The Sears at my local mall is closing this spring. I wondered if JCPenney will follow them out the door. (Maybe that’s why Dick’s Sporting Goods demanded the mall be split in half before they moved in. WTF. Dick’s will be standing by itself when this dinosaur mall finally bites the dust!)

[@josezaragoza6405]

Finally

[@LostDepartments]

I swear everytime I go to any JCPenney its always busy.

[@jo_verabradleyfan4743]

Same here. The two near me here in So Cal are always busy. Hopefully, they'll be able to make it, for the employees sake.

[@DavidLLambertmobile]

Most of the central FL retail places are slow but malls stay crowded due to overseas tourists & business travel guests...

[@jpsracing8732]

My JCPenney is always busy. It’s funny because in the same mall Sears has one of it’s most profitable stores. I can’t tell because nobody goes their to shop.

[@playstationfan1902]

My jc penneys in buffalo at 2 of the 4 area jc penneys stores are always busy. Im not sure about the other 2.

[@chaseman94]

The one in Sugar Land , Tx is always packed. They may be struggling but this one location makes it seem like it's not.

[@SuzyChu123]

I like JCPenny for their clothes. The one I shop at also had a ton of backpacks left over. They had so many that they were putting the overstock down the hallway to the restrooms. It was crazy.

[@Impericallyfrozen]

That's because they dont keep anything in their backrooms

[@laureljade3476]

I remember back in 2003, I could get a 5 shirts and more extra with $50 as a teen. Last time I bought something from JCP (recently) and didn't like the fit and returning something by mail is such a major pain in the ass. Not keeping up with the times is their downfall and their merchandise has gotten more bland.

[@lmao2703]

I have a friend that works at JCP and she says that the only people that ever go into the store are just there for Sephora. I've been there a few times myself and she's completely right. The little Sephora store is packed constantly but rarely do you see people that aren't mall walkers or employees wandering around the rest of the place.

[@MrsMagoo6277]

Its sad to see these companies that have been around forever go under.

[@kennethrussll6059]

Rosemary Dunn I know Rosemary, I have been a faithful dedicated JCPENNEY shopper since 1974, my last year in high school

[@tinkerbell1129mew]

My mother works part time at a JCPenney in Cheyenne, Wyoming and I really hope that they don't close. She needs that job.

[@SlipperyMooseCakes]

If she hasn't already it's probably best she starts looking for another job. Perhaps a Macys, Ulta or something similar.

[@howardstern9129]

There is walmart

[@TheChickenRiceBowl]

@@howardstern9129 Absolutely not.

[@supadoopa926]

I don't think they're going to close in the next couple of months or anything, but I doubt they'll be around more than a couple of years.

[@catmanchester3847]

I think Target or Walmart would be a safer bet than a department store.

[@pilotgrrl1]

"Window doilies" made me laugh. Those were valences and sheers.

[@ElectricAve095]

So glad I threw the cardboard Christmas trees in the jcp compactor today😂

[@phil34nc]

I don't wanna see JCPenney go away. I'm sad Sears is going. You can find some good deals on sale at JCPenney allot of the times.

[@seanvangster]

Me too i shop jcp for all my clothings and sears for my tools. Money is not an issue for me. I rather spend more and see what I’m buying live then buying stuff cheap on amazon and comes in broken or i don’t like it.

[@josezaragoza6405]

Xyooj Vaaj amazon is better

[@slesperado]

Does the Dillards store exist in your area? The Dillards stores in Saint Louis are full of supplies, but there is usually just one customer on each floor. One day I bought some candles from a Dillards in my area. The cashier said, "You've been the only customer I've had all day."

[@TheSameYellowToy]

I'm from STL and the last time I was in a Dillard's was when I was in grade school. I didn't know they still existed. :o

[@slesperado]

@@TheSameYellowToy Man. I don't blame you! The only reason I went into Dillard's a few months ago is because it was the closest bathroom I could find :D I didn't want to buy anything. While I was in there, I noticed they had candles on sale. I've been going back for candles ever since. Every time I go, it feels like I'm in a ghost town. The one I normally go to is at the Saint Louis Galleria.

[@wolfgang1097]

All of the times I have been to Dillard's, the store is pretty clean and cozy. The employees are friendly and considerate. I wish the prices for merchandise weren't ridiculous. Same thing with Bloomingdale's.

[@SquidofBaconator]

A lot different than our JCPenny’s, since ours is usually pretty busy. Even on a regular weekend. Which makes it a little surprising to hear how the company isn’t doing well The mall I’m referring to is called the Arnot Mall; in Horseheads, NY. (One I hope RA looks at if he ever travels to New York State) While it’s not dying, it’s not exactly thriving. But it still did very well during the holidays

[@SearsCool]

So is the nearest one near me in another city

[@chochowilliams]

Same here.

[@ninjamaster3453]

NJ malls always busy

[@Frost517]

Oh please. That mall is dead on arrival with the whole southern tier area! The best your shit hole has to offer is $14 an hour in the highest taxed state at a call center! The mall itself announced that if things didn’t change soon it wouldn’t be able to afford the disgustingly high property taxes. Macy’s left because Arnot attempted to skyrocket rent on them. Sears and Radio shack went bankrupt. Bon Ton, Bankrupt. JCP is next. That Mall is a ghost town. I wasted two years of my life working in that mall for no money!

[@domlimited1264]

The jcpenney use to have everything from appliances electronics tools housewares in my opinion I would rather buy merchandise form jcpenney then walmart

[@mickeydsfries3727]

Jcpenney needs to do what Kohl's does and give $10 shopping dollars back for every $50 dollars bought and $15 back per every $50 during Black Friday and some other holidays. It works for Kohl's

[@jamesfromacct]

JCP has their rewards program for earning store credit/store cash. JCP and Kohl's both do the same practice of inflating original prices on merchandise and then discounting/clearancing/doing sales on items to give the perceived notion of saving money when you end up paying the normal price for an item.

[@fortheloveofbeanies526]

They have something similar, it's called Bonus Bucks. The only way to earn them is to be a rewards member though (but that doesn't cost money, as people think.) If a customer spends $50+, they get a $10 bonus buck in return. But the Bonus Bucks is an event think that has to be planned, it doesn't just happen every day. Rewards, however, happens every day. If a customer spends $200, they get a $10 reward.

[@katherinesandoval7452]

Sears has a deal if you buy 40$ you get 20$ back. Or even buy $250 you get $250 back.

[@Idelia412]

Don't be fooled by Kohls marketing strategy. They jack the so called regular prices way up then make you think your getting a good deal by the discounts and other promotions, There clothes are poor along with the selection.

[@brentad2004]

@@Idelia412 You do make a point; but then again, everyone marks their prices way up on mostly Chinese made goods, and as far as the clothes go,it usually just depends on the brand, some are better than others.

[@nflstreet]

I was just at my local JCPenny's yesterday. It was about as packed as the one you went to, with the most traffic being at the Sephora store and at the checkout near the sports merchandise. The one I went to had a very confusing layout, with the clearance signs dividing sections into two, many of which were in separate areas in the store. Took my mom like 10 minutes to find the Men's section because of this. Didn't end up buying anything there since Dillard's had better prices on jeans. Oh well.

[@daveedwards6727]

I think JCPenney has a problem where they have a good portion of stores that are really profitable, but most stores are dragging them down. I frequent the location in Ahwatukee and it’s rarely not busy on the weekends, especially leading up to Christmas. I made the mistake of shopping there on Black Friday and the line was literally wrapped down one side of the store to the back. The one in Chandler is moderately busy too, but I visited one in Tempe and it was damn near dead for being in a busy shopping center. I hope that JCP pulls through. Their selection is light years better than Kohl’s.

[@brettwood7314]

I use to work at a JCPenney distribution center and was let go recently due to the workload being too light, things aren't looking so good.

[@mojojeinxs9960]

I was once employed at Penny’s in the late 80’s. There was a strict dress code back then. Then worked doing hair in the salon in the mid 2000’s . The changes I saw were going from a full service department store to a fancy Walmart theme store.

[@KaneshaAndrews]

I truly hope that JC Penny stays in business, but I do wonder that despite their efforts to update and keep up with the times if it is 'too little, too late'. I hope not.

[@blue387]

I regularly visit the JC Penney in the Manhattan Mall in midtown Manhattan and it's much more crowded that this. It helps being in a densely packed city with easy access to the subway system. In Brooklyn, a brand new JC Penney has replaced Sears as the anchor of the Kings Plaza mall, sharing the former Sears anchor space with a Primark and Burlington Coat Factory.

[@PC-bh9te]

Blue387 - yes and it helps that Macy's gigantic flagship store is just around the corner from that Manhattan Mall Jc Penney's, so lots of walking traffic between those two stores.

[@emocobra666]

i been there cuz it was the only free public bathroom around that i new of besides macys lol when they are open

[@fortheloveofbeanies526]

As a current JCPenney employee, I don't think we're closing anytime soon. Most stores get closed, but I doubt the business will go down itself. At least not yet. Also: I know a lot of stores will do restocking on the weekends (typically on Saturdays or Sundays, depending on the store) so I think that's why the toy section looks so filled and untouched when you went in. The toy section in the JCPenney that I work at is half empty and they don't restock until Sundays or every other Sunday. Every store is different, so some things in this store aren't in my store or don't have the same layout.

[@collin4215]

Another great video. We have two JCPennys where I live. One is located in a mall and is normally decently busy. We also have a stand alone store that oddly opened only ten years ago. I’ve only been into the mall location but clothing and the Sephora section is always the busiest. It’s funny how you pointed out that the escalator in this JCPenny was working because the escalator at my JCPenny is always broken. It’s also strange that about half the store is modern and renovated but the other half is stuck in an 80s time warp. There is a really rough transition from the new shiny concrete, bright lights and gray walls to the 80s white linoleum, tan walls and dim lights. Overall JCPenny is decently busy at least by me and it’s good to see that they are putting in some effort unlike another department store... cough cough Sears.

[@sarjim4381]

Penney's stock closed at $1.03 today, Friday, 12/28. They have now finally hired a CEO, Jill Soltau, that used to be the head of Jo-Ann Fabrics, a company that appeals to the same people that JCPenney used to appeal to - middle aged women. Bringing in Ron Johnson, the former head of Apple Stores, and Marvin Ellison, who decided Penney's needed to sell things like appliances and x-boxes, were disasters for the company. Both men spent money like water trying to bring Penney's into the 21st century without realizing their customers liked the 20th century just fine. Penney is still in a fairly strong cash position, unlike Sears, and Soltau probably has a year to turn things around. If she doesn't - or can't, then I expect to see Penney follow Sears into liquidation.

[@DavidLLambertmobile]

JCP should strip down to the core markets; women, 15-65 year old & middle class, upper middle class family members. Let poor people run to Walmart or Target/Super Target.

[@TheSameYellowToy]

At least Jo-Ann Fabrics has wised up a bit and is appealing to Pinterest DIYers, cosplayers, and alternative fashionistas, many of whom are young people. Hancock didn't do that. I worked at Hancock Fabrics the last year they were in business, (2015-2016) and they did not even bother trying to appeal to any demographic other than quilting grandmas. We had outdated fabrics, a useless "rewards" system, stupid pricing, (ex. our Christmas and Hanukkah fabrics were 60-75% off all December, then marked back up to full price in January...uh, shouldn't it be the other way around? And during our GOOB sale, we were selling some figurines on clearance for as little as 17 FREAKING CENTS, while exact duplicates of them were regular price for $20!!!) a massive shoplifting problem, (over $1,000,000 worth of merch disappeared in a year from my location) and we sold horribly overpriced, cheap, ugly home decor that even Hobby Lobby would think was too kitschy.

[@powerofk]

Except JCP has generally always sold video game systems. I remember constantly looking through the JCP Christmas catalog as a kid and seeing the NES, SNES, Genesis, and even horrible consoles such as the 3DO being listed, along with games for all of them. When I was a teenager, JCP was the only retailer that sold jeans that actually fit me (I was really skinny, and needed 27W x 32I jeans, and only JCP carried that size). Today, I don't go to JCP often, but they've always had decent sales when you can find them, especially during Christmas and Easter. Honestly, I think that their main problem isn't that they're not trying (they've tried many approaches the last 15 years or so, with not much working) - it's that people who used to shop at JCP are now being forced to shop at Wal-Mart due to the real incomes of their core customers shrinking over the past 15 years. Being stuck in dying malls doesn't help much, either.

[@joseromo8635]

The Scottsdale Fashion Square is now done with its luxury expansion renovation project and the new wing is now complete with luxury options such as Yves Saint Laurent, Hublot, Bottega Veneta, and more! It is truly beautiful and something worth seeing. You should do a follow up video to your previous fashion square video.

[@RetailArchaeology]

I plan on doing a follow up soon 😀

[@branpurn]

Made it to the local dead mall today. In the past few years, Sears: gone, Bon-Ton: gone, JCPenney: gone, in that order. Burlington Coat Factory is selling its fixtures soon. All that's left to anchor that mall is an AMC, and once that's gone there will be no reason for anyone to visit. It's surprising to me if only because JCPenney is on par with Kohl's for in-store experience, IMO, but just seems to suffer from being tethered to dying malls everywhere they're found.

[@daveheel]

When the anchors like them are gone the malls are in trouble. Remember Mervyn's.

[@mindlessvortex]

Your videos are so addicting to watch! Always excited to see a new upload!

[@AKayfabe]

MindlessVortex it is! I wish I had the better equipment to make mine better. I also film retail. Sears etc. I will be filming MOA Sears when it starts to close too but Mall of America hates video and youtubers so I’ll have to sneak in my Go Pro probably or hide phone. His are well edited and until I learn, or get enough people to be allowed to maybe get money to upgrade, it is what it is. This channel is inspiring to me though! I like the Siesta mall though my shirt I bought was the older one before the game crashed

[@DavidLLambertmobile]

The music cues & background music is +. Not distracting & not jarring..

[@420Akillese]

What? JC Penny still exists? Wow... what a find. When I was a kid I remember a JC Penny in jacksonville Florida. It was closed. Never saw another one again. Happy to see the chain is still kicking. Bad shape but still trying. I think online sales and specialty shops helped the downfall. Stores like sears too. Great video.

[@1rockcrawford]

idk man, it sort of just seems like the area of the country you live in, has a lot of dying retail in general.

[@joeybaseball7352]

6:53 if it goes out of business, you should buy that light fixture.

[@sylviaflores1703]

1

[@bedoniyt]

Might be 277volt fixture though.

[@jbgroup1]

That was way too many backpacks for this time of year. Backpacks were usually sold out by mid August at the store I frequented. Whoever bought those either bought too many or the company was not trying to sell them. By Mid-September all backpacks were put on final markdown and any remaining were sold then.

[@Markimark151]

Hell yes! It’s has gotten even worse, my mall owner said JCP was no longer relevant, they demolished the former anchor and putting in restaurants and smaller stores with Forever 21. JCP hasn’t even had a remodel since the 1980s in our mall, it was an outdated company for over a decade!

[@cathyb7560]

The Penney's near me was pretty busy the Friday before Christmas. I bought quite a few things there. Penney’s problems started with the CEO who declared no more coupons, while Macy’s and Kohl’s were bringing in the customers by in droves by giving coupons and discounts.

[@MACJunkie88]

"they carry everything you can think of but nothing you really want"

[@damianstachelski775]

The JC Penny that used be at my childhood mall closed in July of 2017.

[@GetOuttaMyFae]

I worked there for almost 3 years, until last July. I was a "manager" (I did every single job every single day, cashier, jewelry, putting out merchandise, opening/closing the store) JcPenneys main problem is they are losing so much money because they are sending way too many things that we don't sell, such as toys for example. Our back room was full of toys, our toy section was overflowing with toys. But they would not send enough of the stuff we actually sell, such as certain brands and styles of clothing. They also don't listen to customers wishes, my store didn't have anything. No sephora, no salon, no optical, no photo studio, nothing. We had just a couple racks of Nike products for both men and women, but my store wasn't allowed to put safety devices on the clothing so whatever we put out got stolen and we weren't allowed to confront the people stealing the items. I did one time and got written up. My store at least was very understaffed, and that's because corperate gives us certain budgets for certain things. Most weeks we would get a little over $1,000 to staff the store for the entire week and that sent us over budget ever single week. Most people who worked there were decently paid. I alone made $12 an hour, and worked up to 18 hour days 6 days a week. All of the upper management would complain about the cost of staffing, but I asked if I could get less hours which would leave someone who got paid less than me able to work more hours and they refused (I was pregnant and tired of working from 4:30 am to almost 10 pm.). They said I was "too valuable to cut hours" Not to mention that before I quit we didn't have a CEO. He went to Lowe's (surprise! They just closed a bunch of stores after he took over!) but he gave them a 2 month notice of him leaving and they never got a new CEO. I doubt if they have one now. As for the tacky trees, that's another cost the company shouldn't have made. Why use tacky trees when we could have used the trees we were trying to sell? A big focus when I left was "cross shopping" - melding departments together such as making a statement with purses in with women's apparel. But they didn't see Christmas as an opportunity to cross shop with Christmas items? That company has just gotten worse since I left it seems like, and I really won't be surprised if they go bankrupt.

[@alexw2k315]

i think they need to just cut out departments that aren’t doing well. most people who shop at j.c. penney’s go there for clothes.

[@elgntlove3]

Your videos are great and amaze me! I live in So Cal and our Jc Penny and pretty much the entire mall is pretty busy. I personally like Jc Penny’s and have been fortunate enough to have positive experiences with their photo department. Thanks for the update on this store!

[@rl0001]

JC Penny's has always felt stuffy and kinda depressing, so I avoid it

[@katejones1579]

I worked in a JCP for over five years. Customers ALWAYS came in asking about the rumors of the company closing, from the time I started from the time I quit. It eventually just got to the point where no one was really worried anymore and assumed it would be here to stay despite whatever rumors were circulating. I guess I wouldn’t be surprised if it happened, but it’s stuck around for a lot longer than I thought it would so maybe JCP just might make it

[@althenawhm]

I had no idea they sold anything other than clothes.

[@LikaLaruku]

I go once a year to buy christmas decorations.

[@nancyhicksgribble9799]

We just bought our washer and dryer there.

[@ByasSano]

My mother used to always shop through JCPenney and Sears, she would buy clothes and appliances with tags intact, then a few weeks she later would return the items. There was a decent resturant inside and ice cream shop near the front door where I would get free sample. I always will wonder how long will Amazon as a company will last while these retails stores lasted 80- 100 years. Something tells me not as long, the economy climate has changed big time through these few decades.

[@msbae]

It might as well be the next Sears. I haven't shopped there in over 20 years.

[@supadoopa926]

I can't remember the last time I went inside a JCPenney.

[@TEDdotcom]

It’s not as bad as Sears...

[@licho01rivera]

I also haven't shopped at penny's since the 90's. That was the go to store for my parents in the 80's I swear we where their every other week shopping for clothes, and house wares. Ours was not in a mall and it was 3 story's a basement 1st floor and 2nd floor. Boy I miss those days..

[@tomasflores7175]

So many great memories. Thier still a jc penny at our mall in town. Its been thier forever. Hope it never goes away...

[@madisonwilliams442]

I remember going inside a JCPenneys as a shortcut to get to another area in a mall. It was about 3 or 4 people shopping with little to no workers around. It had the same depressing Sears feeling and it’s sad knowing a place I use to go to a lot might close down soon

[@LSMGS62]

Over here at JCP at Queens Center mall is doing fairly well as well. Being a shoes associate at jcpenney I must admit that we are being a bit neglected. Our restock takes forever to arrive. As I am the head associate for kids shoes, we have all but depleted our stockroom. Often now I have to convince customers to order online, even though most customers don't want to. Oddly on black Friday, shoes sold a lot for men's and women's, kids again was almost a ghost town.

[@Austin.D]

I believe this is a sign that JC Penney is next on the chopping block give it a couple of more years

[@nancyhicksgribble9799]

I had stopped shopping there during the Abercrombie years. Then grew up and started shopping there again and I like their stuff. Ours isn't packed but I would say it stays steady with business and its updated.

[@stormyalice]

No. You can't have JC Penny(s), too. I, alone, will keep them alive. Edit: glad to see my JCPenny isn't the only busy one. The ones in Nola stay pretty busy, as well.

[@bx8garageman]

A real shame what happened to Sears, but times are changing. Nobody seems to go out anymore, Amazon delivers straight to your door...

[@annettemorrison7737]

People do not seem to realize that Sears was purposefully destroyed by Eddie Lampert, who was the CEO for years. He sold off the profitable parts of Sears, such as Craftsman and the credit card. He took the money and put it in dividends. Who was the biggest shareholder? Why, Eddie Lampert was. Then, as stores clised, his company went in to liquidate the store. There is a reason that the rich are getting richer. The bankruptcy will decimate the pensions for the workers. This is happening all over this country.

[@smiley1960]

@@annettemorrison7737 How so? Sears hasn't been profitable since 2010, yet most of them remained open...I think you need to look 10 years before Eddie...around the year 1995-2000. Sears could have been Amazon, if they focused more on online and less catalog. They could have been an Amazon with local distribution (stores) centers...keeping jobs local. Amazon takes away from your local economy, it's a shame Amazon is what it is. And I don't want to be a hypocrite, I am an Amazon prime member, but my local toys r us closed and Wal-Mart or even target just didn't have what toys r us had, so I bought off Amazon. If you take away local options, we have no choice but to shop online..one thing I hate, is online for clothes! I don't understand how one could buy clothing without trying it on.

[@callmemarc]

The JCPenny near me seems to be doing much better lately. There are a lot more people in there and it doesn't feel like an old folk's home anymore.

[@aerdian]

“At least the escalators still work.” The same cannot be said for Sears. My local Sears store, which closed earlier this year, had a broken escalator. I was actually on it and it just stopped. After that, I never saw that escalator working. I think they just didn’t care.

[@jamesfromacct]

I work at the JCP Portrait Studio at Tech Ridge Center in Austin and that JCP still stays VERY busy. I went to work on December 22nd and even at 9am there were no parking spaces available, the store was PACKED, more than Walmart was for me later that day.

[@LacrosseSpaz2757]

The JCPenney that's in the mall in my hometown (which is a smaller town in Northern California) seems to be thriving. There is an in-store Sephora, which brings in a lot of foot traffic, but it was always busier than the neighboring Sears before it closed. They also seem to be taking on selling appliances now, which the have been advertising relentlessly about.

[@inkwithcaution]

I think that it is all about location. The JC Penney's that is attached to the Castleton Square Mall is just never empty. Frankly that mall is never empty either. The Sears is gone but I don't know, I think that mall itself is far from being dead therefore the anchors are doing fine. I work in the Macy's and that store has been doing pretty well. Might be biased but I've seen it.

[@vezonf3nrak]

Yeah, but compare the traffic in Macy's to the traffic in JCP. There is a lot more traffic in the Macy's. That may be because of its more central location in the mall, but you see people at every register buying stuff all the time. It isn't that way at JCP.

[@i_no5429]

The JCPenny near me at the Westroads Mall it was VERY busy and I thought they were improving until I saw this video and there are still some JCPenny stores that are struggling. It's busy all year but it gets busier on black friday

[@ShiverThermal]

Where I live in Puerto Rico, Sears, Macy's and JCPenney are still mostly successful aside from some KMarts, including the first KMart in Puerto Rico closing.

[@HeatherSummerRaine]

I just went into JCPENNEY'S yesterday. They had totally rearranged the store, and it was a mess. I was disappointed to see that. When my oldest daughter was younger I shopped there for their plus sizes. It was so well organized and I bought a lot of her clothes there. In high school she she shopped their prom dress selection and dress prices were perfect for her. She had thinned out a lot by then so I am not sure if they had plus sized prom dresses. Fast forward to yesterday. Stuff was scattered everywhere, the whole store was disorganized, and the Disney Section which I loved was hardly recognizable. The nice Disney displays were gone, and the Disney products were scattered around randomly. I absolutely think our JCP is going down. It is just a shell of what it once was.

[@Rheinguard]

Am I the only one who misses outlet malls? I was never a fan of the open concept ones that are outside but the indoor ones were legitimately a joy to go to.

[@jgonz1325]

I work at Sears for three years and my my store in Phoenix AZ, Desert Sky Mall closed on Sunday. Before leaving I made sure to film the atmosphere and all of the last-minute shoppers. If you want to feature my footage on your channel, I would be more than happy to. Just shoot me a reply if you’re interested.

[@toomanynotes1]

You must visit the JCP on Gilbert Rd in Chandler! It's usually busy, but it's a disaster to navigate and shop. The jeans section is especially chaotic. There are a lot of clothing sections devoted to retirees, which I get, but at the same time it makes pretty much all of the clothing selections seem stodgy. Seems like the Mesa location suffers a bit from that, too.

[@Retro64XYZ]

I remember going to Sears and JCPenney with my mom as a kid. We could never find help and even when my mom tried to buy me a SNES game at Sears, we had to leave because we couldn't find anyone to allow us to buy the game in the section for sales. I feel like I stopped shopping at Sears and JC specifically because I just always assume if I need help, I won't get it, and why waste my time. I don't even 'check' there for an item if I am looking for it. All I wanted was Earthbound for the SNES and since they couldn't open the cabinet and sell it to me, I haven't shopped there in nearly 20 years.

[@corishat7057]

The curtains area is always dead in JCP. Its practically creepy to walk by.

[@starmud2]

Kind of a different picture here in so cal, when they redid many of the stores and gave them a modern feel (and added the make up store in a store concept), they seemed to shake the 80s department store vibe this location still has. During the holidays they are pretty busy, their business model is all over the place though and they aren’t apt at making store formats more local to the consumer. I think they survive but in a much smaller footprint.

[@nathanchaney86]

The JCPenny in my town had just reopened in 2010 after about a 6 year hiatus. Then late last year they closed again. Store was never fully stocked; despite a full renovation inside and out. Sad to see it go because I felt they were pretty up to date in clothing. These stores seem to be hit or miss.

[@DANGMQ]

There was a JCP Outlet Store at Grapevine Mills Mall, but while the store closed due to it's struggles, the mall is thriving.

[@HardChuck365]

I think these corporations started to fail is when they started to treat store level employees as disposable minimum wage peons who serve the CEOs who live in multi million dollar homes like the Walton's. Instead of offering pensions and other benefits to attract and retain employees.

[@josephlacerra8433]

Didn't stores always treat their employees that way?

[@openmicsuperstar4633]

When i worked there, my store was a pilot for them getting back into major appliances which probably took some market share from Sears. However, if you talk to associates their model sucks. Furniture and Window treatments consistently struggled

[@AtomicAgePictures]

Just curious if you had a bum foot or something when you shot this one. Your camera work is normally very fluid, but this one had a lot of sea sick inducing up and down motion.

[@RealKansasMan]

Who cares whether or not there is camera motion? The video was well made and informative.

[@phobos2k2]

There is a JCPenny near me and it seems to be busy all the time. I think Sears/Kmart just never adapted to the evolving market like JCPenny, Kohl's and Target seem to be doing a little better. I think there's room for brick and mortar retail chains outside of those big-box chains, but they need to have a modern on-line presence and be adaptable. A great example is the Best Buy near me as well. You'd think Best Buy would be done for, but it's always busy and packed around the holidays. I spent a lot of money there for the simple fact that I like the peace of mind and hassle-free experience of being able to return a large item like a TV or appliance to a trusted chain like BB. On-line retailers can't offer that kind of convenience or peace of mind. Plus Best Buy really changed it store layout to incorporate sleek vendor booths for smart phones and Apple products. It's done very well to adapt to the current market unlike Sears which just languished in outdated layouts.

[@michellescarfSpacex]

I have to ask .. how did you film in the stores without security stopping you . ? Just curious ☺️

[@mikerocks56]

The JCP at my local mall (Lakeside Mall in Sterling Heights MI) is the busiest store in the mall. Never seems empty. There are two Macy’s stores and a Lord & Taylor’s here (Sears just closed) and Penney’s has twice as many as those three stores combined, in my opinion.

[@yoli2724]

"HEADS UP!" In Metairie ( 10 min. From New Orleans), Louisiana, about a mile from one another SEARS, Clearview Mall, on Veterans Bld. and also Kmart on Veterans Blvd. are both scheduled to close March 2019 indefinitely. Maybe you can research and possibly do a video on these dying, sad store locations. I think I'd be awesome to visit and video for the subscribers. You're channel is AWESOME!!

[@jwb52z9]

Some of these places in your videos make it almost seem like a huge percentage of retail stores that have been around for decades are just dying everywhere. It's really weird in a way. :)

[@nazkadellamorte]

JCPenney going out makes me sad. I worked there when I was a teen and worked at their catalog center when I was older. I liked working at both, and even have some good memories from the place.

[@sarat3913]

What really killed JC Penney was their attempt at becoming Target 10 years ago by ending coupons. Coupons entice people. I know they changed back but the damage was done.

[@GandalfGreyhame3]

This store actually impressed me last time i went, i hope they stay in business because we are running out of department stores.

[@robs5252]

I think that is why I don't really get into the Christmas spirit much any more. In the 80s, 90s and early 2000s - the malls were always filled with people Christmas shopping, the malls and stores were decorated and playing Christmas music. It's been a few years since I've been in a mall. I do all of my Christmas shopping online. I think that's why with every passing year I am less and less in the Christmas spirit. Shopping in a dead mall just doesn't put you in the holiday mood.

[@christinebeaumont]

The signage on that watch case is really cool

[@tastyshades]

Depending on where you live and if ur certain stores have updated or not, determines how you are going to perceive the stores on ur local area. I'm reading tons of comments saying how JCP or Sears is worse off than the other because of looks alone. When it's more than that because some stores do remodel. Like in my area, the Sears closed abruptly about 2 or 3 years ago now and before it closed it looked pretty much the same it did in like '06. Now the JCP that's in the same town looks better, is updated and has moderate traffic during the holiday season, past that it more on the low to low-mid traffic. So it's more than cosmetics even tho they do play apart. It's all about demographics of ur area and where the money is and who wants to spend it where. Tl;DR: Its more than a stores looks that keep it open. I just like seeing more insightful observations but it's probably not that deep.

[@brianc5537]

I love JCPenney. The ones in Rhode Island, CT and MA that I’ve been to are always busy and have a great selection and prices.

[@RS-mu3ci]

This JC Penney looks like what SEARS used to look like.

[@Hat65]

Agreed.

[@noahvoris3637]

I think they will be fine as long as they make sure to pay attention to their stores and customers. Their store fleet are like 800, which is pretty huge. Even Macy’s and Sears have less stores then that now. So they could afford to trim more stores if they need.

[@markiangooley]

JC Penney men’s briefs are perhaps the best briefs I’ve ever worn (though I haven’t tried the fancy new type being hyped online of late). Just bought a couple dozen a few months ago, slightly on sale: still a bit expensive. If Penney’s goes bust, that’s probably what I’ll miss most.

[@nightfangs2910]

The 2 JC Penney,s here in southern Massachusetts have closed about 4 years ago now only 2 remain one in southern Massachusetts the other in cape cod

[@pablojesus3409]

This is the internet's effect on department stores!

[@datruthhurts4159]

Jcp sells the most appropriate office work attire not too flash and not too boring. A lot of things at Macy’s is often to flashy more like something you’d wear on the weekends or a night out

[@erinmarsh3934]

I didn't go Black Friday shopping this year, but last year JCP had really good deals, much better ones than offered at places like Target. Also 8-10 years ago I applied for a job at JCP on their computer kiosk thing but my application was denied, probably because I selected Target as my favorite store (that was an actual question on their application).

[@josephtafur]

Well, there selling appliances which i still don't know why. I agree there need to severed products lines there are just not profitable, including appliances.

[@Cerulean0987]

As far as I go, why would I go to a big box store with a tiny selection to choose from when I can go online and choose virtually any product in any category and not leave my home. In addition, I can search for the best price from hundreds of online retailers who are in direct competition with each other, which drives down the prices.

[@mddroog]

I like how Mark is always prepared for a flood. 3:50

[@rmknicks]

I don't really understand the point of JC Penney. They sell cheap clothing which you can get at Target or Walmart. They sell appliances which you can get almost anywhere. My target just remodeled and it was just fine before the redo. At least Target has ceilings higher than ten feet with interesting light fixtures. It's like JC Penney didn't know how to adapt. Maybe people don't want clothing that will melt onto them when they enter into the sun.

[@jamesfromacct]

JCP clothes are waaaaay better quality than Walmart and Target, my JCP has 20+ft ceilings, and sure they have small appliances you can get elsewhere, but their housewares are where they make it up in that department. Their Cooks line of cookware and small appliances is phenomenal.

[@jc1979af]

I see JC Penney as a mid-tier retailer. When I need a nice dress shirt, shoes, or something similar, I go there. Wal-Mart doesn't sell nice or comfortable dress clothes. Now if I need underwear or socks then Wal-Mart is where I go.

[@rmknicks]

@jwathas That's the problem. There is already Macy's for that stuff. JCP was historically private label low-cost goods that catered to old people, who are dying off. They're not adapting.

[@rmknicks]

@@jc1979af Macy's is mid-tier. JCP needs to find their own niche.

[@smiley1960]

The clothing at JCP is better then Wal-Mart