American Retail Giant Is Closing More Locations

The department store has been a part of American culture for years. As for a little history, the first American department store was Arnold Constable, which was founded in New York City in 1825 as a dry goods store, so department stores have been alive and well in the U.S. for two centuries now.

But, times change, and retails stores have been struggling as online shopping has pushed some shoppers to stay home and shop and scroll in their pajamas. Now, one of America’s most well-known department store chains has announced that it will close more stores by May 25.

According to USA Today, JCPenney is coming up on closing dates for seven of its stores that were selected to close earlier this year. “The latest JCPenney closures, which were initially announced in February, come after more than 200 U.S. locations shuttered when the retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May 2020,” USA Today adds. “The chain was later acquired by Simon Property Group and Brookfield Asset Management Inc. in December 2020.” So, these closings are part of a larger reorganization that has been taking place since JCPenney filed for bankruptcy roughly five years ago.

According to USA Today, the stores that will close on or before May 25 include The Shops at Tanforan in San Bruno, California; The Shops At Northfield in Denver; Pine Ridge Mall in Pocatello, Idaho; West Ridge Mall in Topeka, Kansas; Fox Run Mall in Newington, New Hampshire; Asheville Mall in Asheville, North Carolina; and Charleston Town Center in Charleston, West Virginia.

On the up side of things, an eighth JCPenney location in Annapolis, Maryland, that was scheduled to close will now remain open through August, if not longer.

Regarding the closings, a Catalyst Brands spokesperson told USA Today that “the umbrella company is ‘optimizing’ its structure, resulting in the cut of about 9% of its corporate roles.”

Related: Trusted Toilet Paper Supplier Files for Bankruptcy

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Author: Anne Erickson

The ‘Insulting’ Reason Jeremy Renner Turned Down ‘Hawkeye’ Season 2

The 2021 Disney+ series Hawkeye seemed to have everything going for it: A star-packed cast led by Jeremy Renner and Hailee Steinfeld, stellar reviews from both critics and audiences, and an official place in the vaunted MCU. So why didn’t we ever see a second season?

It turns out it wasn’t for a lack of trying, at least not on Disney’s part. But did they try hard enough? If you’re asking Renner, the answer would seem to be a resounding “no.”

Related: Jeremey Renner Says He Briefly ‘Died’ During Infamous Snow Plow Accident

In an interview with High Performance, Renner said that he was asked to make a second season of the series—but for “half the money” he made to make Season 1. Which understandably didn’t sit well with The Avengers star.

“I’m like, ‘Wow. It’s going to take me twice the amount of work for half the amount of money,’” Renner explained. “So eight months of my time, essentially, to do it for half the amount.”

Renner was perplexed, and began to think that his near-fatal 2023 snow plow accident—which left the two-time Oscar nominee with more than 30 broken bones, a collapsed lung, and approximately one year of recovery time—might have had something to do with the lowball offer.

@high_performance

Jeremy Renner reveals why Hawkeye Season 2 never happened… 👀🏹 Jeremy’s episode with us is available now, exclusively on the High Performance App! 🙌 Jeremy Renner’s ‘My Next Breath’ is available in all formats now, published by Simon & Schuster UK #avengers #jeremyrenner #hawkeye #hawkeyeseason2 #disneyplus

♬ original sound – High Performance – High Performance

“I’m like, ‘I’m sorry. Why? Did you think I’m only half the Jeremy because I got ran over?,’” he wondered aloud in the interview. “Maybe that’s why you want to pay me half of what I made on the first season?”

Renner went on to clarify that the disrespectful offer wasn’t coming from Marvel directly, nor was it really even Disney’s stance. “It’s just the penny pinchers,” Renner said.

Renner was very clear in his answer: “I told them to go fly a kite,” he said.

The actor said the “insult offer” saddened him. As he says in the above video: “I still love the character; I’d still love to do it. But I had to defend myself.”

“I didn’t ask for any more money, mind you,” Renner added. “Just pay me what I made the first season. So it’s all disheartening that that didn’t happen, but that’s fine. I’m happy to let that go, because my body’s probably thanking me, time and time again, that I’m not doing it right now.”

Still, Renner doesn’t seem to be giving up all hope that they can come to an agreement—at least not yet. “But we’ll see,” he concluded.

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Author: Jennifer M. Wood