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 The iconic department store chain described the handful of store closures as isolated, but the broader retail landscape is bracing for a tough year.

[Photo: Mark Roger Bailey/Adobe Stock]

BY MICHAEL GROTHAUS2 MINUTE READ

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It’s not been a good start to 2025 when it comes to major retailers shuttering locations. Since the end of last year, numerous companies have announced their intention to close swaths of their brick-and-mortar stores, including Party City, Big Lots, Walgreens, 7-Eleven, and Macy’s. Just this week, another retailer—Joann fabrics—announced it would be closing hundreds of locations, as well.

And now, department store icon JCPenney has also announced it’s closing some locations. Here’s what to know:

JCPENNEY HAS HAD A ROLLER-COASTER FEW YEARS

The iconic department store chain has faced several struggles in recent years, most notably from the fall of foot traffic as the shopping habits of American consumers continued to migrate from malls to online. In May 2020, JCPenney filed for bankruptcy, and in June of that year, the company announced it would close 200 of its 850 stores.

JCPenney ended the year by being bought by its two biggest landlords, Simon Property Group and Brookfield Asset Management. 

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Cut to January of this year: JCPenney announced it would be combining with retail group SPARC, which owns Aéropostale, Brooks Brothers, Eddie Bauer, Forever 21, Lucky Brand, and Nautica, to form Catalyst Brands. Combined, the new Catalyst Brands has more than 1,800 store locations across its portfolio of clothing retailers.

And as of yesterday, JCPenney announced it would be closing some of its locations. The common assumption as to the reason behind the closings may be that they are related to the recent Catalyst Brands merger, but in a statement to the media (via Today), JCPenney said the closures were unrelated.

“The decision to close a store is never an easy one, but isolated closures do happen from time to time due to expiring lease agreements, market changes or other factors,” the statement read. “These closures are unrelated to the recent Catalyst Brands merger.”

JCPenney said it does not “have plans to significantly reduce our store count” but that the closures announced would happen “by mid-year.”

JCPENNEY CLOSING STORES 2025 FULL LIST

In total, eight JCPenney locations are included in the announced closures, according to a now-removed list that was published on the website of SB360 Capital Partners. SB360 helps companies manage liquidations, as well as other services. We’ve reached out to SB360 to ask why the list no longer appears on its website.

JCPenney’s store locator currently says the chain has 656 stores in the United States. Here are the JCPenney locations scheduled to close (via Fox Business):

California

• The Shops at Tanforan — 1122 El Camino Real, San Bruno, California 94066

Colorado

• The Shops at Northfield — 8568 E 49th Avenue, Denver, Colorado 80238

Idaho

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Pine Ridge Mall — 4201 Yellowstone Avenue Pocatello, Idaho 83202

Kansas 

• West Ridge Mall — 1821 SW Wanamaker RoadTopeka, Kansas 66604

Maryland

• Annapolis Mall — 1695 Annapolis Mall Road, Annapolis, Maryland 21401

North Carolina

• Asheville Mall — 3 S Tunnel Road Asheville, North Carolina 28805

New Hampshire

• Mall at Fox Run — 50 Fox Run Road Newington, New Hampshire 03801

West Virginia

• Charleston Town Center — 401 Lee Street E Charleston, West Virginia 25301

UP TO 15,000 STORES COULD CLOSE IN 2025

But it’s not just JCPenney and the other retailers listed above that may see stores close in 2025. According to a January report from Coresight Research, a total of 15,000 stores could close across America this year. That’s a 50% increase from the 10,000 stores that shuttered last year.

What’s driving the closures? The reasons will likely be a little different for every retailer, depending on their unique circumstances, but Coresight said two big trends were contributing factors. Those included inflationary pressures, which have led consumers to cut back on spending, and increased online competition from new competitors, including Shein and Temu.

 Asteroid 2024 YR4, measuring approximately 40 to 100 meters wide, will pass very close to Earth in December 2032—and might even strike the planet. Because of its size, speed, and the possibility of it making impact, the internet has given it the nickname of “the city destroyer.”

Major space agencies, such as the European Space Agency, estimate there’s about a 2 percent chance that 2024 YR4 will hit Earth, though this risk figure will be updated as scientists learn more about the asteroid’s path. Although it’s far more likely the asteroid will miss Earth, sites that could be affected by a collision have already been identified.

The destructive potential of 2024 YR4 depends on its composition, speed, and mass. Because the asteroid is still very far away, these characteristics can only be estimated, and the consequences of a strike are therefore also somewhat imprecise predictions at this stage. Currently, astronomers believe 2024 YR4 would create an airburst—or mid-air explosion—upon impact that would be equivalent to nearly 8 million tons of TNT, or 500 times the power of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. This explosion would affect roughly a 50-kilometer radius around the impact site.

For the location of the collision, some experts, such as David Rankin, an engineer with NASA’s Catalina Sky Survey Project, have sketched out a “risk corridor.” According to the asteroid’s current path, and if the 2 percent probability becomes reality, the asteroid should fall somewhere in a band of territory stretching from northern South America, across the Pacific Ocean, to southern Asia, the Arabian Sea, and Africa. Countries such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Sudan, Nigeria, Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador would be at risk.

The threat posed by asteroids and comets that could potentially strike Earth is measured on the 11-point Torino scale: The higher the score, the greater the risk that a traveling space object will impact Earth and cause large amounts of destruction. The 2024 YR4 asteroid is current ranked at level 3, meaning it is large enough and will pass close enough to merit being carefully monitored. However, most international agencies are confident that the risk level will decrease over time to zero as the asteroid’s trajectory becomes clearer. Initially, the probability of impact was 1.2 percent. It was then adjusted up to 2.3 percent, before the most recent assessment reduced the risk to 2 percent.

This isn’t the first time such an alert has been raised, nor is 2024 YR4 the riskiest space object to have been monitored. The asteroid Apophis, which was discovered in 2004, at times scored higher than 2024 YR4 on both the Torino scale and collision probability. Shortly after it was discovered, it was given a 2.7 percent chance of hitting Earth. However, after a few months and with better observations, scientists adjusted their calculations to more realistic values. Now, although it will pass very close to Earth in 2029, the chances of collision are zero.

 Joann, the financially troubled arts-and-crafts retailer, announced Wednesday that it was preparing to close 500 of its 800 remaining stores after its latest bankruptcy filing.

The announcement came one month after the eight-decade-old company filed for bankruptcy for the second time in less than a year, as consumers pull back on spending. If the District of Delaware Bankruptcy Court gives its approval, the company said in a statement that it would shut underperforming stores across the country, from New York to Alaska.

“This was a very difficult decision to make, given the major impact we know it will have on our team members, our customers and all of the communities we serve,” the company said in an emailed statement.

Joann, whose outlets were once called Jo-Ann Fabrics, is based in Hudson, Ohio. The chain has long sold art supplies, such as yarn, sewing machines, fabrics and other seasonal products. The company currently has stores in 49 states.

In March 2024, Joann filed for bankruptcy to reduce debt, resulting in the publicly-traded company’s being taken into private ownership. That initial filing closed in August 2024.

The retailer continued its downward spiral after a short-lived boost during the pandemic. The company said on Wednesday that it faced “significant and lasting challenges in the retail environment, which, coupled with our current financial position and constrained inventory levels, have forced us to take this step.”

Going-out-of-business sales at stores could start as early as Saturday, according to a customer FAQ shared by the company.

The retail chain is also seeking court authorization to stop accepting gift cards both online and in stores within the next two weeks. Joann has already stopped selling gift cards and no longer accepts them on its website. Returns will stop being accepted two weeks after the court’s approval of Joann’s restructuring plan, the company said.

 Grimes is advocating for her son's privacy amid his father Elon Musk's new role in politics.

Musk, 53, brought their son X Æ A-Xii, 4, to the Oval Office on Tuesday, Feb. 11, to witness President Donald Trump sign an executive order granting the Department of Government Efficiency more power.As Musk took questions from reporters and defended DOGE's controversial actions, X Æ A-Xii was seen making faces and grabbing at his father in front of cameras.

Related: Elon Musk and Grimes' Relationship: A Look Back

Grimes, who shares three children with Musk, revealed afterward that she wasn't aware of her son's public moment, only learning about the Oval Office appearance through a random X user.

"He should not be in public like this," the singer wrote on X. "I did not see this, thank u for alerting me. But I'm glad he was polite. Sigh."

Her sentiments came in response to the X user writing under one of her posts, "Lil X was very polite today! You raised him well. He was so cute when he told DJT 'please forgive me, I need to pee.' "

Related: Grimes Says Her Priority Is 'Keeping My Babies Out of the Public Eye' After News of Third Baby with Elon Musk

Following Grimes' split from Musk in 2022, she has repeatedly distanced herself from her ex-boyfriend, with whom she shares children X Æ A-Xii, Exa Dark Sideræl and Techno Mechanicus.

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When Musk made a one-armed gesture that heavily resembled a Nazi salute in January, Grimes shared a lengthy post on X — which Musk notably bought in 2022 and renamed from the original, Twitter — denouncing Nazism but defending herself.

Related: Grimes Denounces Nazism Following Ex Elon Musk's Controversial One-Armed Gesture as She Insists 'I Am Not Him'

"It's absurd that someone can be this cancelled for something their ex did before they even heard it happened," she wrote. "I am not him. I will not make a statement every time he does something. I can only send love back into a world that is hurting."

She added, "To be clear i could go talk s--- and be on a bunch of magazine covers and be a feminist hero and get clout - but it would serve no purpose. I choose my children's well

Inside Paul McCartney's Ultra-Intimate Surprise Show at N.Y.C.'s Bowery Ballroom: A Night of Rock, Romance and Screams“I can’t believe we’re here doing this!” a delighted Paul McCartney repeatedly said from the stage of New York’s Bowery Ballroom on Tuesday night. That went double for the exceedingly lucky few who crammed into the 500-capacity venue. Not only was this a rare chance to see the rock icon get back to where he once belonged in a room roughly the size of the Hamburg clubs where his career began. But the ultra-intimate gig was announced with almost no advance warning at noon that same day. Tickets were offered exclusively at the box office for $50 cash. First come, first serve and one per person.

New Yorkers braved the bitter cold and descended on the Bowery, where a mood of giddy hysteria prevailed like a lost scene from A Hard Day’s Night. Lots of laughing, running, waving, yelling, hugging and amped-up anticipation. Some got teary, but the prevailing facial expression conveyed an unmistakable look of “Is this really happening?” Many had abruptly abandoned their desks and offices after seeing the news flash across Macca’s social media. Fifty-six years after disrupting business in Central London with an unscheduled midday performance on a rooftop, the man still has it.

The show sold out within 30 minutes, but that didn’t stop the crowd from lingering in the deep freeze a while longer. Some hoped for a last-minute release of tickets — or even the announcement of a second show — while others took a more proactive approach. One fan (Not this writer. No, seriously.) even withdrew $1,500 in cash in hopes of persuading someone to part with their ticket.

Related: Paul McCartney Announced a Surprise, 575-Person Venue Show in NYC. Tickets Sold Out In-Person in 30 Minutes

It's doubtful that anyone was moved by the money. The audience contained far more die-hards than dignitaries. When McCartney descended the narrow steps to the stage, the outpouring of affection in the confined space seemed to threaten the structural integrity of the building. The spry 82-year-old looked simultaneously boyish and stately in his fitted black denim jacket, jeans, and Chelsea boots, with his trademark shag — the source of so much hand-wringing 60 years ago — skimming the collar of his immaculate white shirt.

He was joined by the act you’ve known for all these years: guitarist Rusty Anderson, guitarist-bassist Brian Ray, keyboardist Paul “Wix” Wickens and drummer Abe Laboriel Jr. They’ve been playing together since 2002, or approximately twice as long as the Beatles were an active unit. For this date, they were joined by the Hot City Horns trio, who added an extra punch to songs like “Got to Get You Into My Life” and “Lady Madonna.”

“We’ve only had one rehearsal,” McCartney admitted soon after opening with “A Hard Day's Night” and “Letting Go” — the latter a nod to the just-announced 50th anniversary special edition half-speed master of Wings’ Venus and Mars due out in March. “Usually we rehearse a little more than that.” Even so, they were clearly still tour-tight. The last show they played was Dec. 19, when they wrapped their 23-date European trek at London’s 20,000 seat O2 arena. Watching them adjust to a significantly smaller stage at the Bowery Ballroom was uniquely charming, since it didn’t take a body-language expert to tell that they seemed ever-so-slightly cramped.

Related: Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr Reunite for First Performance in 5 Years

The close quarters meant that McCartney could actually joke around with individual members of the audience, a rarity since he graduated from lunchtime sets at Liverpool’s Cavern Club six decades earlier. The rowdy crowd took advantage of the proximity by being unusually chatty. These shouts ranged from expressions of love (“I love you, too.”) to one overly refreshed guy who echoed every line of McCartney’s stage banter by bellowing “Yeah!” (“You’ll say ‘Yeah!’ to anything!”) Some even shouted irreverent requests for the most obscure entries in the Macca canon. “There’s always old folks looking for deep cuts!” he replies, before admitting that sometimes he hears tracks played on the Sirius Beatles channel that even he doesn't remember. A request for 1980's proto-techno “Temporary Secretary," draws a big laugh from McCartney. “Can we work that one in?” he asks his band. (No dice, sadly.)