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J.C. Penney is closing 240 stores as part of its bankruptcy plan
- aejnsn 6y agoThe popular narrative is JC Penney, among some others, sustained a great amount of damage from the pandemic ultimately resulting in their bankruptcy. The words "coronavirus" and "pandemic" are used 2 and 4 times, respectively, within the 10-paragraph article. While articles and coverage don't say it forthright, several attribute bankruptcies such as this one to the pandemic by association. To clear up any selective amnesia about what a dumpster fire our dear poster child of brick-and-mortar retail was before the pandemic (shocking, right?), here are a few articles on the very topic published between February 2017 and March 1, 2020: https://money.cnn.com/2017/02/24/news/companies/jcpenney-closing-stores/index.html https://money.cnn.com/2017/02/24/news/companies/jcpenney-clo... https://money.cnn.com/2017/08/11/investing/jcpenney-loss-retail-earnings/index.html https://money.cnn.com/2017/08/11/investing/jcpenney-loss-ret... https://money.cnn.com/2018/05/17/investing/jcpenney-earnings/index.html https://money.cnn.com/2018/05/17/investing/jcpenney-earnings... https://money.cnn.com/2018/08/16/news/companies/jcpenney-earnings-retail/index.html https://money.cnn.com/2018/08/16/news/companies/jcpenney-ear... https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/26/investing/jcpenney-stock/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/26/investing/jcpenney-stock/inde... https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/06/investing/jcpenney-appliances/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/06/investing/jcpenney-appliances... The analogy of "the straw that broke the camel's back" is not lost on me, however I am not a fan of the fear porn pushed on readers by simple association for a company making the news for its death throes for ~10-15 years now.