The Owensboro JCPenney located in Towne Square Mall is permanently closing, according to an announcement made by the company on Thursday afternoon. The store has not reopened since it closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Owensboro location is one of 154 locations identified in an initial list to be closed permanently.
A statement on the company blog reads: “Following a comprehensive review of our retail footprint, JC Penney made the difficult decision to close 154 stores. We will continue to operate the majority of our stores and our flagship store, jcp.com, to ensure our valued customers continue to have access to the products and brands they need and want.”
Ed Ray, Gulfstream Commercial Services chief operating officer, said mall officials have not been informed by the company that the location is closing.
“Until we receive direct communication from JCPenney, we don’t have anything to comment,” Ray said. “There are a lot of great stores in the mall that are open and continue to provide great goods and services to local community members. We continue to look for opportunity to expand what is available at the mall. We look forward to reinventing the mall in the very near future.”
JCPenney filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last month, when they first announced there would be upcoming closures.
“While closing stores is always an extremely difficult decision, our store optimization strategy is vital to ensuring we emerge from both Chapter 11 and the COVID-19 pandemic as a stronger retailer with greater financial flexibility to allow us to continue serving our loyal customers for decades to come,” said Jill Soltau, chief executive officer of JCPenney. “I am incredibly grateful to our talented associates for their ongoing dedication and their passion for meeting and exceeding our customers’ expectations during this difficult and uncertain time. All impacted associates will be treated with the utmost consideration and respect.”
