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J.C. Penney Outlet Store is Closing

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Started 2 years ago by Walker
Latest reply from Porky

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Walker
The KLD / Downtown / Gay Street
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J.C. Penney to close catalog outlet stores, consolidate call-center operations
Monday, January 24, 2011
The Columbus Dispatch

J.C. Penney is exiting the catalog outlet business, closing its outlet stores and consolidating call center operations.

The company has operated a popular outlet store just off I-70 on the Far East Side for decades. The store, along with other J.C. Penney outlets, carries a large amount of catalog merchandise.

READ MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2011/01/24/24-jcpenney.html?sid=101

Posted 2 years ago #
arualpalm

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Too bad for local people losing jobs - will not miss the outlet store! Too many yucky memories of having to buy clothes there as a child.

Posted 2 years ago #
Andrew Hall
Dennison Place (The Circles)
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arualpalm wrote >>
Too bad for local people losing jobs - will not miss the outlet store! Too many yucky memories of having to buy clothes there as a child.

Sounds like we are gaining jobs as the call center is expanding (at the expense of Grand Rapids (worse off than us!) and Albuquerque. )

A.

Posted 2 years ago #
kcrissinger
Brookshire
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arualpalm wrote >>
Too bad for local people losing jobs - will not miss the outlet store! Too many yucky memories of having to buy clothes there as a child.

OMG. I have the same memories. My memories are more related to my Mom staying there for hours going through what seemed like every rack/bin in the store.....

Posted 2 years ago #
JimL2

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That location is also a huge regional shipping warehouse, as well as one of two(?) national data centers. So while I'm surprised they're closing the outlet store (since the warehouse with all its damaged merchandise and RMAs was right there) it's good for us that they're using the space to expand the call center.

But probably bad news for other local retailers (e.g. The Andersons) which have already been hit hard around the Brice Road area.

Posted 2 years ago #
somertimeoh
Harrison West
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This doesn't make much sense. I thought the outlet centers provided a way to reduce JCP's shrinkage. Maybe it's costing more to operate them than people are spending to buy the crap they had to sell. Would have sucked for me if I was still in TX today. See ya later million bucks in forms and label sales a year. Feel bad for my replacement :(

Posted 2 years ago #
Snarf
Dystopia
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I peed on a rack of clothes there once when I was little.

Posted 2 years ago #
Twixlen
The Weston District
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I noticed that they have quite a good online outlet - and wonder if they've found it more profitable to simply keep it all there. The last time I needed curtains/drapes, I hit the outlet, but the selection was dismal. I went online, and ordered them from/to the store with no shipping charges, AND at a better price than I saw in the outlet (for same curtains, different color).

Posted 2 years ago #
somertimeoh
Harrison West
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Twixlen wrote >>
I noticed that they have quite a good online outlet - and wonder if they've found it more profitable to simply keep it all there. The last time I needed curtains/drapes, I hit the outlet, but the selection was dismal. I went online, and ordered them from/to the store with no shipping charges, AND at a better price than I saw in the outlet (for same curtains, different color).

Ahh, that makes sense. And I need new curtains, thanks for the tip :)

Posted 2 years ago #
Tenzo
Chicago Lakeshore
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Andrew Hall wrote >>

arualpalm wrote >>
Too bad for local people losing jobs - will not miss the outlet store! Too many yucky memories of having to buy clothes there as a child.

Sounds like we are gaining jobs as the call center is expanding (at the expense of Grand Rapids (worse off than us!) and Albuquerque. )
A.

I see more and more companies using Columbus for outsourcing. Cheaper labor than in cities.

There has been a small trend to move jobs that are outsourced to other countries back into poor, depressed or cheap labor markets.
The net each year is still outsourcing jobs to other countries, I'm hoping this trend will continue.

I have received lots of emails from people urging me to ask for a person from the US when you are sent to another country for support. It seems to be a grassroots campaign saying that if everyone did it companies would have to move jobs back to the united states. I do it occasionally, but only when I can not understand the person on the phone.

The times I have asked for someone who speaks English in the US, they have transferred me. Montana, Florida and Wisconsin is where I usually end up.

Posted 2 years ago #
GCrites80s
5xNW
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JimL2 wrote >>
That location is also a huge regional shipping warehouse, as well as one of two(?) national data centers. So while I'm surprised they're closing the outlet store (since the warehouse with all its damaged merchandise and RMAs was right there) it's good for us that they're using the space to expand the call center.
But probably bad news for other local retailers (e.g. The Andersons) which have already been hit hard around the Brice Road area.

What I dig about the Anderson's is that it's never been remodeled. Everything in Columbus gets remodeled every four years so it's good to see some stability there. I always expect to round a corner in the Anderson's and see Knight Rider toys on the shelf.

Posted 2 years ago #
AmyJ

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I've had some random good luck at the outlet in the past. I found a pair of Converse for $10 and Nike running shoes for $25 among other things. I wonder if they are going to do a liquidation sale?

Posted 2 years ago #
Walker
The KLD / Downtown / Gay Street
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GCrites80s wrote >>
What I dig about the Anderson's is that it's never been remodeled.

I heard recently that the NW location (near Sawmill & 161) was recently remodeled & expanded.

Posted 2 years ago #
Andrew Hall
Dennison Place (The Circles)
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Walker wrote >>

GCrites80s wrote >>
What I dig about the Anderson's is that it's never been remodeled.

I heard recently that the NW location (near Sawmill & 161) was recently remodeled & expanded.

The grocery portion and the lawn/garden section. Over the years, they have continually added to their food portfolio (and moved the wine section.)

A.

A.

Posted 2 years ago #
JimL2

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A.

Posted 2 years ago #
Porky
C-Bus' East Side
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Ayyy.

Posted 2 years ago #
cyclist II
Short North & Peach District
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Remember the food stand they had there in the 80's and the popcorn all over the floor and clothes and spilled icee's? What a mess. My mom always took me there for clothes. Even at 7 years old, I could tell the place was a tacky dump. Anyone else remember walking up the brick slopes that frames in the doorways? There were always out-of-state license plates to see and count. Oh the memories!

Posted 2 years ago #
BCNation
Franklin Park
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arualpalm wrote >>
Too bad for local people losing jobs - will not miss the outlet store! Too many yucky memories of having to buy clothes there as a child.

I won't miss it.

There's still The Anderso--, oh wait, but Meijer is--, oh wait...that side of Brice Road is a ghost town.

Posted 2 years ago #
berry

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^
I'm pretty sure The Andersons is still there.

Posted 2 years ago #
scott413
German Village
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kcrissinger wrote >>

arualpalm wrote >>
Too bad for local people losing jobs - will not miss the outlet store! Too many yucky memories of having to buy clothes there as a child.

OMG. I have the same memories. My memories are more related to my Mom staying there for hours going through what seemed like every rack/bin in the store.....

I soooo feel your pain... horrible hours spent there as a kid with only the stale popcorn for comfort. Ugh. Kinda sad to see it go, but glad to see the boost in jobs for the call center.

Posted 2 years ago #