J.C. Penney is exploring filing for bankruptcy protection after the coronavirus pandemic forced the U.S. retailer to temporarily shut its 850 department stores, upending its turnaround plans, according to people familiar with the matter.
The Plano, Texas-based company has access to enough cash to survive in the months ahead, even as revenue dries up because of the store closures, the sources said. Still, the company is contemplating a bankruptcy filing as one way to rework its unsustainable finances and save money on looming debt payments, which include significant annual interest expenses, the sources added.
www.cnbc.com/2020/04/14/jc-penney-explores-bankruptcy-as-hopes-for-recovery-fade-sources-say.html
I work for a non-essential medium sized retail store inside a mall in a red state. My company wants to open ASAP. The mall will probably open when the governor says it’s ok.
On calls with my DM we talk about how we’ll only be able to let in so many people at a time, we’ll have to make sure people stand apart, strict cleaning schedules, a more restrictive return policy, temperature checks on employees maybe, worries of robberies because everyone will be wearing masks.
It’s all a joke really, with asymptomatic spreaders. If we open too early the whole mall is at risk and the area will flame up again.
So we’ll have less budget for labor, less staff in store anyway to accommodate customers and head counts, more work with all the extra cleaning, less ability to sell due to social distancing and head counts, drastically reduced sales to all of the above plus already being closed a month.
It’s going to be rough times ahead for most retailers.
h/t Plague_wars