JC Penney Closing All U.P. Stores

All Upper Peninsula J.C. Penney stores are closing.

The retailer has announced it will close 138 stores nationwide, including seven stores in Michigan.

Four of those stores are in the U.P….with locations in Escanabe, Kingsford, Sault Ste. Marie and at the Copper Country Mall in Houghton.

The closing represents 13 to 14 percent of the company’s portfolio and less than five percent of its sales.

Some 5,000 employees will be affected by the closings.

Most of the closings are expected to happen this June with liquidation sales starting April 17th.