Many people were saddened to learn the news that JCPenney will close the doors of its Greenwood store this fall.
Holmes County residents Roosevelt Harper and Janice Harper appreciated the access and quality of the store and will miss the convenience of having a major department store near their hometown of Lexington, where very few clothing shopping options remain.
“I’m gonna miss it because there aren’t that many left,” Janice Harper said. “In terms of a clothing store that has quality material clothing, we don’t have that in Holmes County, except for a few dollar stores and a grocery store.”
Roosevelt Harper, left, and Janice Harper, both of Lexington, visit the JCPenney store in Greenwood this week. They were disappointed to hear it will close in the fall. (By Drew Richardson)
Company officials confirmed this past week that after careful consideration, a decision has been made to not renew a lease for the Greenwood location, which is set to expire in the near future.
The store opened in Greenwood at its original location on 323 Howard St. in 1936. In 1976, it was relocated to its current site in the Greenwood Mall at 810 W. Park Ave.
The company has operated since as early as 1902 when James Cash Penney opened the first store in Kemmerer, Wyoming. The company reached its peak growth in 1973, with 2,053 stores, 300 of which were full-line establishments.
However, for the past decade, there has been a considerable decline in department stores across the United States. According to IBISWorld, a comprehensive industry and market research database firm, and to estimates based on U.S. Census data, there has been a 27% decrease in department stores nationwide over a nearly decadelong span — from some 8,625 stores in 2011 to 6,297 in 2020.
Projected estimates from IBISWorld have department store locations dwindling down to as few as 4,678 by 2025, a nearly 50% decrease compared to numbers from 2011.
The financial struggles of JCPenney have also been evident. It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May 2020, and in September 2020, Brookfield Asset Management and Simon Property Group agreed to purchase JCPenney for around $800 million.
Also, some of JCPenney’s struggles can be traced back to the increased shift, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, to online shopping by many Americans.
According to Statista, a database company specializing in market and consumer data, e-commerce sales in the U.S. accounted for just 11% of total retail sales (excluding food services) in 2019, which was the highest share on record — until the pandemic arrived.
Faced with stay-at-home orders and closed stores, millions of people resorted to online shopping in 2020. According to data collected by the Census Bureau, e-commerce sales generated $792 billion in revenue in 2020, which is equivalent to 14% of total retail sales.
However, online shopping isn’t the most appealing form of shopping for many of those who grew up driving to a nearby department store, where they could try on clothes in-person to make sure they fit just right. Some residents of Greenwood and the surrounding area aren’t as open to online retailers such as Amazon.
Roosevelt Harper said she prefers to go in the store to shop, as opposed to buying clothes online.
“I hate to see it go,” Frances Nix, a resident of Greenwood and retired schoolteacher, said of JCPenney’s pending closure. “I hate for Greenwood not to have many choices for shopping, and everyone doesn’t like shopping online.”
Nix, who recently retired from teaching at Holmes Community College in Grenada, has been shopping at JCPenney in Greenwood all of her life.
JCPenney officials said it was a tough decision to close the Greenwood store but are thankful for the support it has received since its relocation in 1976.
Roosevelt Harper voiced her disappointment in seeing the store close, saying the majority of her wardrobe and other essentials were bought at the Greenwood Mall location.
“There is so much stuff in JCPenney’s like clothes and bedding,” Harper said. “So much of my bedding and clothes that are hanging in my closet came from this very store.”
With liquidation scheduled to start this summer for the Greenwood Mall location, discounts on clothes and other items are expected to draw in shoppers looking for bargains.
“I’m going to miss it when it closes,” Janice Harper said. “I’m trying to get all the deals I can before the store closes down.”
- Contact Drew Richardson at 581-7233 or drichardson@gwcommonwealth.com.
