JCPenney store in Lewisville mall among those closing as part of company restructuring

The JCPenney store at Music City Mall in Lewisville is among 154 stores across the country to permanently close as part of the retailer's plan to get a handle on its finances amid bankruptcy.

Store closing sales are expected to begin June 12, after a hearing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, and to last 10-16 weeks, according to a June 4 news release.

The stores identified for closure in this first phase come "following a comprehensive evaluation of its [the company's] retail footprint and a careful analysis of store performance and future strategic fit for the company," according to the release.

"While closing stores is always an extremely difficult decision, our store optimization strategy is vital to ensuring we emerge from both Chapter 11 and the COVID-19 pandemic as a stronger retailer with greater financial flexibility to allow us to continue serving our local customers for decades to come," Jill Soltau, chief executive officer of J.C. Penney, said in the release.

The company has about 850 stores across the United States and Puerto Rico, along with its e-commerce site www.jcp.com. As of June 4, about 500 stores have reopened with the easing of restrictions related to the coronavirus, the release stated.

The closures will help reduce the company's store footprint so that JCPenney can focus on its strongest stores and e-commerce site, the news release said.

JCPenney filed for bankruptcy protection May 15.

The Lewisville location serves as one of the anchors for Music City Mall near I-35E and the Sam Rayburn Tollway. It is one of seven stores in Texas to permanently close. The other Texas locations to close are in Dallas, Greenville, Huntsville, Lufkin, Palestine and Paris.

Additional phases of store closing sales are expected to be announced in the coming weeks, according to the company. See the full list of store closures here.