What Is Going On At JCPenney? | Retail Archaeology 

Can you imagine what it must feel like working at a empty/dying store like this? Especially if you're old enough to remember how full of life they used to be.

My mom worked at Penny's in the 90s in customer service. She was literally the wrong personality for it, but somehow didn't get fired. A few years after she died, my best friend and I decided to go visit that Penny's, and to my surprise... the customer service section was closed but otherwise exactly the same. Same signs, same counters, same everything. Actually made me cry because it was so easy to remember back to being a little kid at that counter and waiting for my mom to come out from the back. Except, this time, she would never do so again.

I find all of this, incredibly sad. These stores, were such a huge part of my life when I was growing up, harboring so many good memories while shopping (especially school shopping,) and hanging out there. Memories of meeting friends in the electronics department, playing the Atari 2600 display model, with my everyone for *hours* until we were politely asked to leave by security. Has online shopping, improved our lives? At one time, I would have enthusiastically said YES!! Now, I no longer feel that way,as it only serves to increase our feelings of isolation, and loneliness. The stores served as a place to socialize with others, that you otherwise wouldn’t see on a regular basis. Oh well, I could go on for hours, sharing stories of the mall, and department stores, but I’m sure you’ve other things to do….

It’s crazy how JC Penney went from being an omnipresent mall/retail staple to being on it’s way out

I remember when JCP had catalog desks in each of their stores...with red phones that you would use to order something out of about 20 catalogs that they had on display. In the 1970's and 1980's, you often had to wait in line for the next one to open up when a customer was done ordering their items. Penney's and Sears catalog centers were the AMAZON of its day...yet they closed them not realizing what they could be

So sad that malls are really no longer such a major part of life…. I remember being a little kid and going shopping with my Mom to the mall was so much fun and going to Pennys was extra special during Christmas! I miss those days…

2:33 As a retail employee in a kind of kitchy tourist trap, I greatly appreciate your refusal to film employees

I shopped this very location today. This was an accurate representative of this 'ghost town` of a retail store. I shop here because it is close to my home. The story is, JC Penney owns the land that this store sits on and that is why they remain standing after all else has been bulldozed for the big makeover. The new outdoor mall was proposed to be ready by 2024, it does not seem to be on schedule. I sure do miss the former PV Mall, the grandkids and I could have an air conditioned walk, have lunch in the food court, ride the train and shop for what we needed that week all while the furnace outside was blasting at 115°+. I guess indoor malls are yesterdays news , even when you reside in the unforgiving desert of Arizona.

It's amazing that a nearly-abandoned store can look so neat!

I worked at Sears some years ago. I saw a store devoid of customers, lacking inventory and zero budget for maintaining the dirty crumbling store. Eddie Lampert was systematically dismantling the company under the guise of saving it. I saw the writing on the wall and gave notice telling my superiors that the store was going to close and I had my own future to consider. I got the full court press and insistence that the store would not be closing. Unconvinced, I moved on. It did take two more years, but the store closed. Today, out of over 3,500 stores Sears has maybe a dozen left plus a pathetic online presence. J.C. Penny doesn't have Eddie Lampert to contend with, but once again the writing is on the wall. You can only wonder why stores like Costco and Walmart keep going strong despite online retail and yet so many others cannot. It seems simple to me. Offer product the customer wants and offer it at a good price. The executives at the top don't really care. They get their paycheck no matter what, bleed the company dry and simply move on to the next buffet when the gravy train ends.

You were talking about the lack of employees. I remember back in the day every department and JCPenney‘s had its own checkout counter. Now they have one section back against the wall, but have like three registers. And finding someone in our department now is near impossible. It’s just crazy how that is. Although I do see quite a few people on the first floor of our JCPenney’s when I go. It’s when you go up to the second floor where the kids and the big and tall section for the men’s department is that you find very few people.

Watching these things being empty makes me feel on a personal level. What I used to do and enjoy are not something people do anymore. I feel as though I was the weird one.

IMO the fatal mistake of JCP was the "no more sales, these are our everyday low prices" policy. I found identical items, identical brand for much less at Macys. Plus Macys had some identical brands & items for sale, so the savings was even greater. Local JCP closed its store and its clearance price for one item was almost ten dollars ($10.00) MORE than Macys regular price for the exact same item.

I go to this store every few months. The nostalgia is so strong 😊

I worked for JCP for five years as a supervisor. The upper leadership of the company are so out of touch with the reality surrounding the retail industry. There is so much they could have done and still could do to save themselves (or at least the new owners can). However with the decline of the American mall and the fact that JCP was bought by companies that own most of the malls in the country, it won't be long before they close for good due to failure to adapt. I'm an MBA and tried reasoning with leaders while I was still working there, but they won't be told and the arrogance will end them.

My nearest JCPenney is actually in a similar situation to this one, in that it was attached to a mall for many years, but ended up outliving the mall. The mall in question was demolished over a decade ago and replaced with a Costco and a Dick's Sporting Goods, but the JCPenney is still kicking.

JCPenney actually announced today they were putting $1 billion into remodeling their stores and revamping their website.

JC Penneys demise was outrageous to watch. In MN they went from being a steady, reliable retailer to being totally unwelcoming. They got rid of all customer service & stopped selling all the stuff we relied on them for. It's like they suddenly decided to cater to an all new customer base - that apparently never turned up.

Props to the staff for keeping the displays so nice. Everything is so neatly laid out. I just remembered... my prom dress was from JC Penney. It was royal blue with lace

Northwoods Mall in North Charleston, SC is making a major resurgence. Penneys is doing ok there. And pretty much every store was open when I went there last year. New management brought light to the entire mall. Kudos to them. Lots of people walking around and shopping.

Being a wheelchair user, I’m shocked that the elevator didn’t open up to the lingerie department on the second floor. Every “department” store I’ve ever been in always has the second/top floor elevator next to the lingerie department. It’s usually really helpful if you can’t find the elevator! 😂

Our JCPenney stores are all closed now but before they closed they were really disheveled and messy. This store looks so clean and tidy.

I am rooting for JCP to survive. I like shopping there. I think they have good quality store brand clothing for great prices AND they offer some good name brand stuff at competitive price points. I have also shopped for home decor there and found some gems! I will give it to them -they are going down fighting!

Friend of mine works at JCPenney and she's told me not to be surprised if you have a hard time finding an associate. Seems they don't offer their employees a lot of hours, and try to have as few people on as possible -especially the week days. It makes everyone wonder why they still hire on at all, and if they're trying to fail the business because there aren't enough people on the floor to help the customers.

I actually still like to shop at Penney's quite a bit, mainly because they seem to be the best store for carrying things I like in sizes that fit me for an affordable price. A lot of my clothes actually come from my store which is much smaller than this one. I have never been one to like ordering clothes online, so I still enjoy going to stores like Penney's and picking out clothes. I am too picky when it comes to clothes to feel like ordering much online. Plus I like supporting the stores because I'd hate to see places like that shut down because there isn't much to do in my area.

My JCP did a massive remodel of the Home department at the same time they did the construction of the Sephora spaces. The idea at the time was that the Home department would be the start of the major overhaul of the store layouts. Those brightly lit areas were supposed to be sort of like brand shops or seasonally themed areas. They had also planned on having a "test kitchen" area where employees or vendors would do demonstrations of various products, or cook up food samples. Those floors were the best decision of all, they were always so shiny and looked so clean, even when they were filthy! It's sad to see the store so empty, but good to see that the Home remodel still looks pretty great all these many years later!

When retail archeology uploads, you know it’s a good day.

I was in a JCPenney last week and what really shocked me was the state of the fitting rooms. They were in terrible condition and just dirty.

So sad to see these stores slowly dying. I miss going shopping browsing at all the new merchandise. Waiting for the giant fall catalogs from JCPenney, Montgomery Ward's, Spiegel's and Sears. Spending hours looking through the pages. Wishing for a special outfit, watch or coat. Maybe new drapes or bedspread. Hoping your husband would notice and surprise you with that special item for wanted. Saving for new dishes or pots and pans. The good old days.

My nana used to model for JCPenney’s back in the 60’s. She also did gift wrapping during the holidays there. As a child of the 80’s and 90’s, I remember always getting my hair and photographs done there. I used to love looking through their holiday magazine that was packed with toys and circling everything I wanted so Santa had an idea of what I wanted lol. I recently went into one a couple of years ago and it was nothing like I grew up in. Even the quality of the clothes went down. So glad you caught this relic of a store on camera!

I think too what has happened is the department store was for a different cultural time in America, it was the time of stay-at-home moms and part of their daily/weekly routine was to go shopping with other stay-at-home moms. I remember my mother and her friends and my aunts spending morning/afternoons downtown, shopping, eating, movies. But those days are gone, and so one day will the department stores be gone .... Sad.

I lived in the area when PV Mall was built, before that we had to go to Metrocenter for the mall experience. Some friends had an apartment in a brand new complex across the street that was built around the same time and we went there a lot as the mall was being finished up and tenant businesses were still moving in. The exact opposite end of the mall's life, as it's were. I guess 40+ years is a long time for a mall to survive, but it's still sad and kind of hard for me to accept that this part of my life is fading into history.

That store looks remarkably recovered (folded, straightened). That means traffic is low considering the lack of employees. P.S. A classic Twilight Zone episode addresses what store mannequins do at night.

It will always look/feel like the 80s/90s in these stores. And always kinda sad. Like watching the past be left behind right before your eyes.

Jc penny or other anchor stores outside of a mall normally buys those stores. So even though it is attached to an old mall, it's actually it's own building. So that's might be why it's still standing

My late grandmother loved this location. When my sister and I would come over to visit, she'd always take us to the PV Mall JCP to get new clothes. So sad to see all of these old businesses going away.

My local JCP is an anchor store at a half-empty mall. It might be a bit smaller than this one, but people are shopping and making purchases whenever I stop in. I decided two years ago to BECOME a JCP shopper and help keep it alive. Edit: It has a hair salon and is hiring stylists, which seems encouraging.

I cant remember the last time I was in a JCPenney's store, but i did go in them a fair amount as a kid growing up in the 90's. Its sad though to see stores in this state.

I just walked through the JC Penney at Arrowhead mall in Peoria and it wasn’t packed or anything, but it did have a decent number of people for a Saturday afternoon. So that one seems to be doing okay. The Dillards in that mall was also surprisingly crowded.

I was in highschool in the 70s. The mall was the place to go. The store you're highlighting now would be filled with customers, like Christmas time every day. You would find several employees in practically every department. That customer service counter would gave 4 - 5 employees, on the phone taking customer calls and employees handling customers at the counter. It's weird to see this JC Penney now in 2023. The only time it was ever this empty and quiet is before opening or after closing. If you thought the 90s in general had a lot if business activity I can tell you the 70s was twice as much.

although i’m only 25, these videos make me feel a certain way. I used to hate waiting by the cart waiting for my mom and grandma to finish shopping at JCP then the mall. Now i walk into JCP that looks like this, no employees, no families, it’s just sad. I really like the floor with the bright lighting, sunday’s were my family’s “mall day”.

It’s amazing to me that Sears, Younkers (former nice Midwest dept. store, Pier 1, Christopher Banks, so many stores have left our Sioux City mall. It was such a thriving, busy place. You could spend all day there. At the same time, highly expensive stores like Chicos, Von Maur, Dillard stay in business. Is everything suppose to be bought on line? Hate it.

So nice to see you again! I’m older than you but I grew up in malls in Western NY and then South Florida. I used to love eating lunch inside Jordan Marsh or Burdines. Great memories! Do you remember when there used to be full sit-down restaurants inside the better department stores?

JCPenney said Thursday it plans to spend more than $1 billion by the end of 2025 in a bid to revive it’s business. The money is going toward remodeling JCPenney stores, upgrading its online shopping site and app, and making its supply network more efficient so that online orders are delivered more quickly. It is a 1 billion self-funded reinvestment.

I was at that same Penny’s a few years ago but it was creepy. The only employee I found was at the entrance serving pickups from online shopping, returns, and in-store purchases. It’s sad because this store and mall was so much fun.

Holy crap! Those Airwalks! I also used to wear those in middle school and high school in the 90s! I think almost every teenager had at least one pair of those back then! I haven't seen those in about 25 years! The ones in this video are the OG Airwalks from the mid to late 90s! The JCPenney where I live is somehow still open. I actually go to the salon there; however, the store itself is NOTHING like what it once was. Honestly, a majority of their inventory these days is nothing more than overpriced garbage. I looked around for a bit a couple of weeks ago while I was waiting for my haircut appointment, and I couldn't find a single thing that I would buy. The prices were high and the quality was subpar, at best. I remember my parents shopping at JCPenney ALL the time when I was growing up in the 80s and 90s. It was always one of my mom's favorite stores for clothes. She still occasionally shops there from time to time. It really is a sad sight nowadays. Our local JCPenney is so old and run down, although very nostalgic. It was built in the early to mid 1970s. The mall that it's attached to is a total ghost town with hardly any stores left. I honestly don't see how they manage to stay open. It seems like they are headed in the same direction as Sears.

I was told by an employee several years ago that JC Penney owns that building/section of the old mall, that is why they stayed open. I actually love that store. I always forget about it, but then when I do go, I always find exactly what I needed that I couldn't find anywhere else. Like I needed swimwear for a vacation, they had the best selection. Or, most recently, I needed a cocktail dress for a wedding. I found not one, but TWO perfect dresses there, after going to all of the other department stores, Marshalls, TJ Maxx, Nordstrom Rack, etc. I hope the store does get a new life once the rest of the development is done

I remember JCPenney fondly, first the catalogue then it was one of the upscale stores in my small town. Ordering and going to pick up from the section in the back was cool also. The demise of the mall is sad.

PV Mall was quite the happening place in the 80s and 90s. I can’t imagine it closed up. Went there about about 15 years ago and it was giving me some Metro Center vibes already.

I was sad years ago when they took the candy shops out of the department stores. They were usually in the basement and they had all sort of chocolates and stuff, with a candy employee weighing everything out. When my kids were small the candy store in Montgomery wards was closing for good, it was sad but we took advantage of the clearance prices. Unfortunately you cannot go backwards in time, so just cherish the memories.

I had to go to a JCPenney's just this past weekend to buy some new work clothes and it was a misery going all across each department to the one open fitting rooms area every time I found something new I wanted to try on. At least Liz Claiborne was still around and I managed to find what I needed. Check out was painless at least, as there was nobody waiting, and it was the only check out area I could even see too. I loved these sorts of stores growing up; they were so vibrant especially around the holidays. Now they feel like a shell of what they used to be, alas.

They did this in Pensacola, Fl. as well. The JC Penney at the old University mall stayed open, while the rest of the mall was demolished and replaced with other stores that are not a mall.

Those home department remodels with stained concrete floors and brighter lights was the Ron Johnson era at JCP around 10-12 years ago. He really attempted to make JCP look and feel more modern. My JCP has that same entrance with the glass panels on the front. It was built in 1979 so that store must have opened late 70's or early 80's.

Thank you for bringing the awareness that JC is still standing. I thought every store on Paradise Valley mall was closed.

just discovered your channel today , and these store walk throughs are so damn relaxing they remind me of the old 2000s ads that would come on at 2 am i love it

The trouble with sticking around while a dead mall is being demolished is the public thinks you're gone too.

Gotta hand it to this JC Penney though...it's clean! Could be because there's no traffic to rummage through everything. I like how you pointed out the area with optical and all that. This is something I remember with the dept stores. Salon, family photos, gift wrap ..and my favorite, a travel agency that offered great deals at Dilliards.

I don't know of a movie like night at the museum but with mannequins, but there is the Twilight Zone episode "The After Hours". It might be what you want!

Makes me so sad to see these stores like Sears gone and JC Penny on its way out. These have been there as long as I can remember. I’m 87 years old.

It's really sad something from your youth going away. My mother and I went to a very old J.C. Penny's when I was little off of main street in San Jose that they remodeled after a fire. Some customers hade died in the fire when a wall collapsed. I was 8 years old at the time so I don't remember every detail. Thank you so much for the video it was interesting ☺☺

I really hope they make it, would be a shame to lose another icon from the past.

I like JC Penney because, as a plus-size man, it's one of the only places I can regularly find big & tall clothes in my size at reasonable prices AND try them on to be sure I like the way they fit. Online stores have a lot of size options, but I hate having to wait for things to be delivered only to ship them back when they don't fit me properly.

I hate to see retail die. My family and I prioritize shopping retail over online.

This video brings back nostalgia and memories for me. I used to work there for years during college in their homes dept and that's when their stocks were still around $75. I left about 12 years ago after graduating and moved to corporate. So sad to see it failed - I should pay a visit soon.

The JCP by me, built these partial walls to block off half the floor. They tried blending it like we wont notice. They all did that partial remodel with the modern floors and lights but it’s like 1/4 of each store. Thanks for the video!

Ugh,it makes me so sad to see that these stores have closed over the years. I have such warm memories of mall trips during my teens in the 90’s. It was THE place to be on the weekends. I think the first one I remember shutting down was Mervyns and I was so sad to see it go. And even though malls still exist, it’s definitely not the same. A lot of stores look like they’re fillers and also some empty spots. I guess change is hard at times😒

You have some of the best and most appropriate background music. Sitting here just chilling and relaxing

My JCPenney in Biloxi, MS opened in 1979. It’s still successful because it’s on a tourist attraction on the beach. It’s located in Edgewater Mall on Beach Blvd in Biloxi, MS

The JCP in West Towne Mall in Madison, Wisconsin was similarly bereft of shoppers and staff on my recent visit. I had to search across about half the store to reach the only area of trying-on rooms. Very eerie and sad. The mall is intact, and I suppose still doing a subdued amount of business overall.

Crazy how Penny's still exists! I always make it a point to go in through the Penny's at my local mall and ride the escalator when I'm there. Both of my local malls have open Penny's but they look terrible, I don't know how they're open. A Penny's distribution plant is about 20 miles from my house and it closed a few years ago. In 5 years Penny's will cease to exist, that's my prediction. A special shout-out to the Eastfield Mall in Springfield, MA which closed in July after 55 years of business! Mallratz for life!

Omg loved this vid. Easy watching and great update. Officially subscribing

I highly recommend going to the JCPenney at superstition springs mall! It gives me Sears vibes

JC Penney has done better than most department stores at this point. It's where I shopped the most out of all the mall department stores since my mom was a fan of them over Sears. My main memories of JCP is checking out whatever GBA/DS game I picked up on our mall trip as we walked through on the way in and out. And that service desk hallway the restrooms were always down.

You visited the Hemet Valley Mall a few years ago, before the Sears died I think. Now the only old school anchor the mall has left is the JCPENNEY, crazy how it is still going here in Hemet. The store has been here since at least the 1930s though, before the "mall"(Hemet mall is basically a big hallway)was built it was in downtown. Somehow they have survived the death of our downtown and the mall. I think the surviving senior population is keeping the local store alive.

God.. This channel is everything I wanted. Super comfy and nostalgic.

I worked at a JCP in NC through 2008, and it was actually doing well but the entire area got revamped and they got booted. This store you filmed reminds me of the last days of Sears. I am actually impressed with the beauty section. Re employees, I know not long after I left they had adopted the Kohl's model with more dedicated check out counters vs department staff. I am glad to stumble upon your channel. I worked at several other more upscale department stores and I'll be curious to see if you have filmed them.

How empty that fully stocked store is is soooo creepy. It's not even post apocalyptic its like...Night of the Comet if you remember that. People have just vanished. Thanos didn't even snap them away there would still be people there 😂

Department stores have a few things against them. 1. High prices. Department stores have always been more expensive than cheaper retailers like K-mart,Target,and Wal-mart because they were a "prestige" store. It was "high status" to shop at them. Especially higher end stores like Macy's. As the economy gets worse,it's a status symbol fewer and fewer people can afford. And since you can get anything you want from the internet,all brick and mortar stores have suffered. Because the internet has everything for highly competitive prices and department stores have limited stock and high prices. 2. Limited inventory. As things have gotten worse,department stores appealed more and more to social status hungry ladies. Meaning more and more "female centered" stock like clothes and make up. Department stores used to have mens departments,appliances,toys,tools. A lot of that stuff is just gone. Replaced with women's clothing and make up and stuff like that. So even though the store is massive,it doesn't have a lot of variety in it's inventory. 3. Forgot the past. Much like the malls they're attached to,the people running these things seem to have forgotten what made them great in the first place. "You can find it all at the mall". Variety. A lot of dying malls? You see lots of clothing stores and very little else. Department stores? Just large,over priced clothing stores. It's cheap and it sells. Cause everyone needs clothes. But not everyone is shopping for clothes. Sometimes,you just want a place to be. Malls used to have activities and games and stuff. Movie theaters,arcades,live events. All gone. There's really no reason to go to these places anymore. And without the mall to draw people in,what's the point of the deparment store that doesn't sell much of anything? The mall drew people in with it's variety of goods and services and department stores sold the big ticket items smaller stores just didn't have the space for. And that's all gone now. It's folly to say "the internet killed brick and mortar". Brick and mortar committed suicide by forgetting what they were. JC Penny and Sears used to do a lot of their business by mail order catalogs,an earlier version of what the internet does now. It's not even "getting with the times",it's "remembering what you used to do". And they just don't now. And they're failing because of it. Wal-mart is doing fine because they're everything department stores used to be. Wide variety of merch,mail order business in the form of a website,and they do it at low prices. They also have groceries. It's not a matter of doing anything new so much as beating them at their own game. That's what happened to department stores.

Funny that you do this video. I have taken a few pictures of the basically-dead JCP in the crap mall in Great Falls MT. Not only is it a real throwback, but it's also wickedly depressing. You should see how much floor space there is between the racks as they try to make the store look more stocked than it is.

Dude I love your videos. Keep at it!

It's so sad seeing the demise of the shopping mall. I loved going to them the most back in the 70s when they first sprang up. Seeing this one reminded me of Dawn of the Dead. Kind of creepy. I did notice two salespeople moving about. Or was it two of those mannequins coming to life? lol

The Simon Property Group owns the Mills Corporation Malls such as my Potomac Mills Mall which opened in 1985. The mall has a JCPenney which is only 1 level. Also, Sephora is opening an outlet store in the mall this fall

Great video, Retail Archaeology! I enjoy watching your channel, although it is sad to see several stores that I remember from my childhood becoming a thing of the past. But I still believe that there's a place for brick and mortar stores, and I hope they never FULLY go away. 👍🏾

I was working for Phx PD in the Paradise Valley area when the mall property was a big huge empty lot. Watched the Mall go up and the Dillards expansion addition. Lots of interesting work memories of PV Mall.

There’s a department store across the south and in east Texas called Belk. It’s very similar to JC Penny just a little more upscale. And Kohl’s is just a modern JC Penny to me.

I'm surprised at how well stocked it appears. You mentioned the elevators in older dept. stores being neglected but I think the bathrooms are usually even worse. It's still so sad how all these dept. stores have lost their appeal. I was a kid in the 70s/80s and Sears, JCPenney's and Montgomery Wards were where everyone shopped. The stores were always busy but especially hectic on the weekends and holidays. I like to jokingly say that it all started going downhill when they took out the candy/popcorn counters out of the stores. I have actually seen boxes of candy bars near some registers at JCPenney's like it's a convenience store.

I like that you posted this right before labor day weekend. I work at a busy retail store that is NOT JCPenney, but in honor of your video I'll wear a shirt i got from their online store tomorrow for my labor day shift while get holiday pay at the different retailer.😂

Breaks my heart that the PV Mall is gone! Thanks for filming the cube 🥲

If Sephora is moving to Kohls, then it must mean that people aren't shopping JCP since they are located in malls rather than the stand-alone stores, like Kohls. Malls have been becoming creepier. I went to pick up some glasses on a Sunday afternoon only to pass by people loitering outside the door going into the mall. It didn't make for a comfortable entrance.

I always used to shop at JC Penney but I can’t understand how they justify keeping these stores open with barely any business. The one by me still has business but a place like the one in the video looks like they cleared it out specifically for your video!! Crazy times.

As a Mesa resident currently living overseas, whenever I get homesick I watch your channel. Been to Superstition Springs often and yep its getting dead there!

It was always so exciting when the new catalogs came out, not only for Penney's, but Sears and Wards. I'd pore over them. We didn't have these stores in our town but our parents would occasionally travel 30 miles to the "big city" and hit the mall. So sad that this is all gone now.

Very sad; Penney's was my favorite department store. Growing up, my mom bought most of my clothes here, and I kept shopping there as an adult. The empty store looked creepy, and every once in a while seeing a live human in the distance made it feel like a ghost story to me; was that a human going around the corner in the distance? A mannequin that came to life? A former employee who committed suicide on the premises and is now haunting it? LOL. Thanks for the vid.

I hope that once the apartment complexes and retail shops are completed, people living in said apartment complexes will be aware of this JCPenney and Costco's existences. If they are, I hope and pray that it saves this JCPenney, even though they obviously haven't done much whatsoever since their bankruptcy and buyout three years ago. To avoid a second bankruptcy, Simon Property Group and JCPenney really need to get their act together and get their retail climate and approach in their brick & mortar stores and online stores straightened out fast, otherwise they're doomed.

Omg, you're posting this video a week after I just went to our local JCP for the first time in years. I remember coming to our JCP all the as a kid, it had a 2 story parking garage with an entrance directly to the 2nd floor. It would be packed on the weekends, even the second floor of the garage with no shade. I went last Saturday at 2pm and that same parking garage was near completely empty. I was shocked. I thought maybe the JCP shut down but nope, it was open but pretty much deserted. It is a grim time for department stores. It's so sad.

This location was my very first job… that shot at 4:41 is the section I worked in and is my own personal “liminal spaces” moment. Over half a lifetime ago, feels like a hazy dream. Very trippy and surreal. I’m glad I caught this upload.

As a child that grew up in the 80s and 90s , we didn't have JP Penny Canada but would often take trips across to border to shop at one at a nearby mall .. at the time they had a great selection of stuff you couldn't find in Canada for a good price ...Lots of great memories of malls back then , the one i used to go to as a kid in US is still open but a shell of its former self and on its last legs with many closed stores .....Malls here in Canada are still fairly busy but have all been remodeled to higher end generic look in the last few years and same with the shops in them cater to rich people...

Great video, it felt like I was there...a relaxing night at a dead mall. I like poking around empty department stores too! As a female, I can say the JCPenney beauty stores are far inferior to Sephora. The new stores have drugstore level cheap makeup at Sephora prices. If you pay more, it should be a good brand, but the new stuff is off brand and not so great

Something I hadn’t thought about in 20 years then seeing your view going down the escalator and I remembered going down that same escalator and the fun day at that mall I had visiting friends in Phoenix. Wild.

It’s a very sad thing to see the malls dying off. I loved malls as a kid and teenager… it was part of childhood really