J.C. Penney stores will keep the lights on for about six extra weeks in 138 stores slated to be shuttered, after news of their pending closing apparently spurred sales.
The news, which affects stores in Thief River Falls and Jamestown, Wahpeton and Dickinson in North Dakota, means shoppers have a little extra time to walk the aisles.
“Ever since the company announced its store closure list, those stores have seen better-than-expected sales and traffic," Daphne Avila, a spokeswoman for J.C. Penney, told CNBC. "This is not an uncommon response when you announce a store closure. Local shoppers will come out for a variety of reasons -- some out of nostalgia and some who are just looking for a great deal."
CNBC’s report says that 138 stores that were scheduled to close in May will now have July 31 closing dates and that liquidation sales planned for those stores will now begin May 22, instead of April 17.
News of the closures was announced last month. The Grand Forks J.C. Penney is not expected to close.
