Delaware escaped the wave of JC Penney store closings.
There have been concerns that the store in Dover Mall was vulnerable to the wave of closings. Penneys also operates a store in Prices Corner that is not in a destination mall.
Delaware fares well in store closing announcements, due to the lack of a sales tax.
The company will close 138 stores and eliminate 5,000 positions nationwide.
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A store in the Eastern Shore Maryland city of Easton will close.
Pennsylvania will see the loss of seven stores, including a Penney store in the King of Prussia mall. That goes against the typical pattern of stores closing in what are now known as B and C malls.
Most of the affected stores will begin the liquidation process on April 17.
The wave of closings follows a similar announcement by Macy’s and a long-running wave of closings by Sears.
Penney, once a mainstay of small town America, joined the move to malls with mid-priced clothing as well as household items, furniture and most recently heavy appliances.
Ventures into auto repair and other areas were launched and later dropped as the retailer faced stiff competition from Kohl’s and other off-price retailers.
The company got into financial trouble several years ago when a former Apple Store executive launched a transformation of stores a move that did not resonate with the company’s customer base.
