在大萧条中幸存下来的有118年历史的零售商彭尼(J.C. Penney)上周五申请破产，美国零售业销售额以创纪录的速度下滑，受到旨在遏制疫情蔓延的限制措施的挤压。
J.C. Penney此前曾宣布将关闭其850家门店中的一些。该公司雇佣了近9万名工人。它是第四个在冠状病毒大流行期间申请破产保护的主要零售商，加入了J . Crower、Neiman Marcus和Stage Stores，该公司还拥有固特异、Bealls和Peebles连锁店。
该零售商尚未宣布关闭哪家门店，这让一些员工感到担忧。“我希望托皮卡的那个不要关闭[哭丧着脸表情]这是我兼职工作的地方！[哭丧着脸表情]，”推特用户写道。
然而，在流感大流行之前，零售商的销售额一直很低。截至今年2月1日的2019财年第四季度，彭尼的利润下降了64%。作为金融重组计划的一部分，彭尼已经与贷款人就该公司约70%的第一留置权债务达成协议。该计划的一部分要求彭尼申请第11章破产保护。
“通过法院监督的程序实施这一金融重组计划，是确保杰西潘尼在其100多年历史的基础上，在未来几十年为我们的客户服务的最佳途径，”杰西潘尼首席执行官吉尔索尔塔(Jill Soltau)在一份声明中表示。
她补充道:“我们有一个全新的、经验丰富的零售高管团队，他们一直专注于重建我们的业务，并为杰西潘尼恢复财务实力。”。
新闻周刊向彭尼寻求进一步的信息。这个故事会随着任何回应而更新。
美国的零售额全面下降。根据商务部周五的一份报告，在过去的12个月中，销售额下降了21.6%，仅在2020年4月，销售额就下降了16%。咨询公司玛利亚·菲奥里尼·拉米雷斯的首席美国经济学家约书亚·夏皮罗告诉美联社，即使各州重新开放经济，由于“大部分失业”不会回来，销售仍将低迷。
2020年5月15日，加州圣布鲁诺市，坦福伦购物中心的商店里，一家J.C .彭尼商店前的停车场。该公司于周五申请了第11章破产。
4月份损失最严重的是服装店，以及电子和家具店。自3月份以来，像彭尼这样的百货公司损失了29%的生意。唯一显示销售额增长的零售部门是在线和目录公司。
彭尼成立于1902年，一直繁荣到1929年，也就是大萧条的那一年。尽管公司创始人詹姆斯·凯什·彭尼在大萧条期间损失了大部分财富，但公司能够坚持下去，并最终反弹。1929年之前，彭尼在各州开设了1252家商店。
然而，当大萧条来袭时，彭尼不得不通过贷款来发放工资，由于商店商品的低价，公司得以生存。然而，到了1941年，彭尼熬过了大萧条，开始再次扩张；1966年，随着阿拉斯加和夏威夷商店的增加，彭尼再次在每个州都有商店。该公司在20世纪70年代达到顶峰，拥有2000多家店铺。
然而，从20世纪90年代末开始，由于竞争加剧，零售商开始挣扎。在时任首席执行官罗恩·约翰逊(Ron Johnson)削减晋升后，彭尼曾在2012年差点申请破产。约翰逊很快就被解雇了，在这个职位上呆了17个月。
J.C. PENNEY, WHICH SURVIVED THE GREAT DEPRESSION, SUCCUMBS TO PANDEMIC LOCKDOWNS, PUTTING 90,000 JOBS AT RISK
J.C. Penney, a 118-year-old retailer which survived the Great Depression, filed for bankruptcy on Friday as U.S. retail sales tumbled at a record pace, crushed by restrictions meant to stall the pandemic.
J.C. Penney had previously announced that it would be closing some of its 850 stores. The company employees almost 90,000 workers. It is the fourth major retailer—joining J.Crew, Neiman Marcus and Stage Stores, the company that also owns the chains Goody's, Bealls and Peebles—to file for bankruptcy protection amidst the coronavirus pandemic.
The retailer has not announced which of its stores are closing, which as some employees worried. "I hope the one in Topeka doesn't close [Crying face emoji] this is where I work for my part-time job! [Crying face emoji]," wrote Twitter user @beth4ku.
Sales had been low prior to the pandemic for the retailer, however. During the fiscal fourth quarter of 2019, which ended February 1 of this year, J.C. Penney's profits were down 64 percent. J.C. Penney has entered into an agreement with the lenders of about 70 percent of the company's first lien debt as part of a financial restructuring plan. Part of the plan requires J.C. Penney to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
"Implementing this financial restructuring plan through a court-supervised process is the best path to ensure that JCPenney will build on its over 100-year history to serve our customers for decades to come," Jill Soltau, J.C. Penney CEO, said in a statement.
"We have a newly refreshed, highly experienced team of retail executives who remain focused on rebuilding our business and restoring financial strength to JCPenney," she added.
Newsweek reached out to J.C. Penney for further information. This story will be updated with any response.
Retail sales in the U.S. have been down across the board. Over the last 12 months, sales are down 21.6 percent, and in April 2020 alone, sales fell 16 percent, according a report Friday from the Commerce Department. Joshua Shapiro, the chief U.S. economist for the consultancy Maria Fiorini Ramirez told the Associated Press that even as states reopen their economies, sales will remain depressed as "a big chunk of the lost jobs" will not come back.
The parking lot in front of a J.C. Penney store at The Shops at Tanforan Mall on May 15, 2020 in San Bruno, California. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Friday.
The worst losses in April were suffered by clothing stores, as well as electronics and furniture stores. Department stores like J.C. Penney lost 29 percent of business since March. The only retail sector to show an increase in sales were online and catalog companies.
J.C. Penney was founded in 1902, and thrived until 1929, the year of the Great Depression. Though company founder James Cash Penney lost most of his wealth during the Depression, the company was able to hang on and eventually rebounded. Before 1929, J.C. Penney had opened 1,252 stores across every state.
When the Great Depression hit, however, Penney had to take out loans to be able to make payroll, the company was able to survive, thanks to the low prices on the stores' merchandise. By 1941, however, J.C. Penney had weathered the Depression and started expanding again; in 1966, with the addition of stores in Alaska and Hawaii, J.C. Penney again had stores in every state. The company reached its peak in the 1970s, with over 2,000 stores.
Starting in the late 1990s, however, the retailer began to struggle, due to increased competition. J.C. Penney previously came close to filing for bankruptcy in 2012, after then-CEO Ron Johnson cut promotions. Johnson was fired soon after, spending 17 months in the role.
