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Fate of J.C. Penney store in Vienna still unknown

Company plans to close 130 to 140 stores

VIENNA– No information is yet available regarding the potential impact on the J.C. Penney location at Grand Central Mall in Vienna from the company’s planned closure of more than 100 stores.

In a press release issued Friday, J.C. Penney Company Inc. announced it is implementing a plan to optimize its national retail operations as part of the company’s successful return to profitability. Under the plan, the company expects to close two distribution facilities and approximately 130-140 stores over the next few months.

The company plans to release a full list of planned closures in mid-March pending notification of all affected personnel. Nearly all impacted stores are expected to close in the second quarter of 2017.

Associates who will be impacted by the store and distribution center closures will receive separation benefits, which includes assistance identifying other employment opportunities and outplacement services such as resume writing and interview preparation, the company said.

The strategic decisions will help align the company’s brick-and-mortar presence with its omnichannel network, thereby redirecting capital resources to invest in locations and initiatives that offer the greatest revenue potential, the press release said.

“In 2016, we achieved our $1 billion EBITDA target and delivered a net profit for the first time since 2010; however, we believe we must take aggressive action to better align our retail operations for sustainable growth,” said Marvin R. Ellison, chairman and chief executive officer of J.C. Penney.

“During the year, it became evident the stores that could fully execute the company’s growth initiatives of beauty, home refresh and special sizes generated significantly higher sales, and a more vibrant in-store shopping environment,” said Ellison. “We believe the relevance of our brick and mortar portfolio will be driven by the implementation of these initiatives consistently to a larger percent of our stores. Therefore, our decision to close stores will allow us to raise the overall brand standard of the company and allocate capital more efficiently,” he said.

The company has decided to initiate a voluntary early retirement program for approximately 6,000 eligible associates.

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