JC Penney Will Stay Open At The Jersey Shore

A few years ago, JC Penney announced they would be closing over 100 stores. That was before anyone even dreamed of a pandemic wreaking havoc on our economy, so when the retailer filed for bankruptcy earlier this year, we assumed they would be disappearing from our area.

Now, JC Penney has been rescued from bankruptcy by Simon Property Group and Brookfield Property Partners. The two are buying JC Penney for a reported $800 million, and the deal will save 650 locations and nearly 70,000 jobs.

There are about a dozen JC Penney locations in New Jersey, and while most of them are up north, there are three that would be considered around "the shore". The locations at the Ocean County Mall, the Monmouth Mall, and Freehold Raceway Mall managed to stay open even after the company filed for bankruptcy, and now the store employees can breathe a sigh of relief knowing they won't be out of a job in the near future.

I'm actually surprised that Simon and Brookfield stepped in to buy JC Penney. The future of malls, in my opinion, is pretty grim. As much as we gripe about Amazon being omnipresent, using our shopping habits against us, and Jeff Bezos hoarding money...none of us seem to be cutting back on our online shopping. The Ocean County Mall has gone through a ton of changes lately, the Monmouth Mall has been trending down forever, and there are a lot of stores leaving the Freehold Mall too.

Thanks to Justin @ WOBM for the tip!