Hoping to buy some furnishings at JCPenney’s Home Store in Fresno? You waited too long

The JCPenney Home Store in River Park has closed.

The home store closed Aug. 11. Some of what it sold – appliances, mattresses and window coverings like curtains – is now for sale on the second floor of the JCPenney at Fashion Fair mall.

When asked why the River Park store closed, Joey Thomas, from the company’s corporate communications and public relations department, responded via email: “As part of our efforts to become a destination for personalized beauty offerings, a broad array of special sizes, affordable private brands, and home goods and services, JCPenney has been reviewing every element of its business. In order to bring these strategies to life and offer the best overall expression of the JCPenney brand, the decision was made to close our Home store and integrate the Home business into our main store location at Fashion Fair.”

National retailers, including department stores, have been closing shops as customers increasingly turn to internet shopping. J.C. Penney Co. announced in March that it was it planned to close 138 stores, though the Fresno store was not on the list.

JCPenney stores in Visalia, Hanford, Selma and Delano will remain open, Thomas said.

The second floor of the Fashion Fair JCPenney was rearranged to make way for the home department items, said Leslie Egelston, the general manager of the Fashion Fair JCPenney.

“We relocated our Home Store that was in River Park and moved it back into our main store,” Egelston said, referencing years ago when both home and clothing departments were under one roof. “We’re basically taking it back to a one-stop shop.”

Because the second floor space is smaller, the store will not sell furniture like the River Park store did, she said.

As part of the changes, the children’s department moved to the first floor. A toy department also recently opened on the first floor, too.

The Sephora store inside JCPenney was recently remodeled, adding 900 square feet and a Benefit Brow Bar.

This story was originally published August 21, 2017 at 4:14 PM with the headline "Hoping to buy some furnishings at JCPenney’s Home Store in Fresno? You waited too long."