J.C. Penney is set to close six of its department stores in 2020, a spokeswoman confirmed to CNBC.
The stores, set to close by April 24, are at: Southgate Mall in Missoula, Montana; Myrtle Beach Mall in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; Chapel Hill Mall in Akron, Ohio; North Hills Shopping Center in Raleigh, North Carolina; Tulsa Promenade in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Green Acres Mall in Valley Stream, New York.
The news comes as the embattled retailer is embarking on a turnaround plan and aims to get back to profitable sales growth. Earlier this month, it said its holiday same-store sales dropped 7.5%. Penney hasn't reported a quarterly sales gain since the 2017 holiday season. And it is still calling for same-store sales — a key metric that monitors sales at retailers' stores open for at least a year — to drop 7% to 8% in fiscal 2019.
Penney still has roughly 850 stores up and running, and the company says the closures come as part of an annual review of its real estate. The retailer had more than 1,100 locations in 2010.
"This decision is the result of a careful and ongoing review of our store portfolio," a spokeswoman said in an email to CNBC. "It's never easy to close a store, however, we feel this is a necessary business decision."
In early 2019, Penney announced it was shutting 18 department stores and nine furniture stores.
Analysts have said they anticipated Penney still needs to close hundreds of stores to get its business back in good shape. But CEO Jill Soltau has said she doesn't plan to close a bunch of stores all at once, as she tries to turn things around.
Macy's earlier this month confirmed it would be closing nearly 30 stores in 2020.
Penney shares, which trade under $1, were down more than 5% Tuesday afternoon. The retailer has a market value of $257 million. Penney's stock has fallen nearly 40% over the past 12 months.
The Dallas Morning News first reported on the closures Sunday evening.
