Saturday, March 18th, 2017
Penney to close store in St. Marys
By Sydney Albert
ST. MARYS - The J.C. Penney store in St. Marys Square Shopping Center is one of 138 that management plans to close.
According to a news release, most affected stores will begin liquidation on April 17, with most closures happening sometime in June.
Corporate public relations specialist Kate Coultas said the St. Marys store will close in mid-June.
Associates affected by the store closures will receive separation benefits, which include help identifying other employment opportunities and outplacement services such as resume-writing and interview preparation, the release says. The chain has also initiated a voluntary early retirement program for eligible associates.
Coultas said 33 associates are at the St. Marys location, but no specific details were available on how many would qualify for separation benefits.
Chairman and CEO Marvin R. Ellison said in the release that in 2016 the chain had delivered a net profit for the first time in six years, and the company's capital would be more efficiently spent equipping its more successful brick-and-mortar stores to compete against other physical and online retailers.
The store in St. Marys has been open since 1994, Coultas said.
Auglaize County Treasurer April Bowersock said the company in January had paid $22,418 in semiannual property taxes for 2016.
