Is JcPenny the next big store to go bust in Brownsville?

With several big retail stores like Sears closing up in Sunrise Mall, I wonder if JcPenny will be following next in it’s footsteps.   Local blogger Bobby Wightman-Cervantes from Brownsville Voice had pointed out last week to look at the JcPenny’s stock in the New York Stock Exchange and in the last 5 years the stock has been on a downward spiral with the stock reaching record lows under a $1.00.  When stocks fall under $1.00 over 30 consecutive trading days, they are at risk of being removed from the NYSE and after that if nothing is done, they are de-listed from the exchange and pretty much no investors can buy/sell a company’s stock and if that happens, the company pretty much stops operating.  

JcPenny has many rivals such as Tj-Maxx, Kohls,  Walmart and Macy’s, Dillards who all have relatively healthy stock prices and doing a small financial analysis I see all of them being around over the next 5 years but JcPenny really has no hope of surviving.  Jani Hali who is the CEO of  major retail investment research firm said in an article on footwearnews.com, ““It is the end of an era. I don’t believe [JCPenney] can recover…. consumers want an edited assortment with a point of view. You can buy from e-retailers, rent clothing you can resell, have a great assortment sent to you via a subscription service — all of this takes share from the traditional retailers that don’t move with the times.”   

Times change, people change, shopping habits change and when companies don’t adapt to these changes, they get left behind in the dust. I expect some major announcement from JcPenny in early 2020 with the next announcement of hundreds of store closures, possibly Brownsville being one of them.  My advice for all the store associates that are working there is start polishing your resumes and starting saving whatever money you can if all of a sudden HR calls you in and hands you the lay off letter.