JC Penney bankruptcy brings concern Boise Towne Square mall could lose another anchor
A year after Sears closed its store at the Boise Towne Square, could the mall be set to lose a second anchor tenant?
On Friday, JC Penney filed for bankruptcy protection, just two days after its Boise and Nampa stores reopened in conjunction with Idaho’s coronavirus recovery plan.
The Plano, Texas, company said Monday that it will close nearly a third of its 846 stores. A total of 192 stores are expected to close this year and 50 next year.
The stores that will remain accounted for 82% of the company’s net fiscal 2019 sales and “represent the highest sales-generating, most profitable, and most productive stores in the network,” according to a company filing. But the company hasn’t said which, if any, of its eight Idaho stores are among them. An email to a spokesperson wasn’t immediately returned Monday.
“What we’re seeing is big box retailers that were also struggling before COVID-19 hit,” Malissa Jackson, a retail real estate specialist with Colliers International in Boise, said by phone. “They are really being challenged to adapt to some extent, if they can.”
JC Penney is the third major retailer to declare bankruptcy during the coronavirus pandemic, following Neiman Marcus and J Crew. Two other department stores, Macy’s and Nordstrom, also have struggled.
Jack Yejekwe, manager of Boise Towne Square, did not return a request for comment on JC Penney’s troubles.
If Penney’s were to close, it would be a big blow to the mall, but it wouldn’t be insurmountable, Jackson said.
Since it opened in 1989, Boise Towne Square has been a good performer, Jackson said.
“It’s a great piece of real estate and it’s a great shopping hub,” she said.
Sears closed its Boise store in January 2019. The mall has been looking to fill the space, possibly with more than one tenant.
If Penney’s leaves, Boise Towne Square might have to transition to an experience-driven center, Jackson said.
The nation’s largest shopping center, American Dream Miami, is scheduled to begin construction later this year. While it will feature retail stores, two-thirds of the development will be devoted to entertainment, such as an ice skating rink, an aquarium, a submarine lake and a roller skating rink.
A 1,369-unit apartment complex will be built nearby, which is expected to supply the shopping center with customers who can walk to stores.
No enclosed malls have been built since 2007, Jackson said. The biggest trend is toward open-air shopping centers such as The Village at Meridian.
“At The Village they have water fountains and the ice rink in a very beautiful, open setting,” Jackson said.
“I don’t know necessarily that the Boise Towne Square mall needs to open everything up, but I think that a shift for a concept that is more experience-related will assist it with maintaining its success.”
JC Penney, a company founded in 1902 by James Cash Penney in Kemmerer, Wyoming, hasn’t made a profit in more than a decade.
Idaho was home to six of the company’s first 10 stores, in small towns such as Preston, Malad and Rexburg. Later, more than 30 stores operated in the state.
Today, only the Boise and Nampa stores are left in the Treasure Valley, with six other stores statewide.
This story was originally published May 18, 2020 at 4:06 PM.
