Its not been a good start to 2025 when it comes to major retailers shuttering locations. Since the end of last year, numerous companies have announced their intention to close swaths of their brick-and-mortar stores, including Party City, Big Lots, Walgreens, 7-Eleven, and Macys. Just this week, another retailerJoann fabricsannounced it would be closing hundreds of locations, as well. And now, department store icon JCPenney has also announced its closing some locations. Heres what to know: JCPenney has had a roller-coaster few yearsThe iconic department store chain has faced several struggles in recent years, most notably from the fall of foot traffic as the shopping habits of American consumers continued to migrate from malls to online. In May 2020, JCPenney filed for bankruptcy, and in June of that year, the company announced it would close 200 of its 850 stores. JCPenney ended the year by being bought by its two biggest landlords, Simon Property Group and Brookfield Asset Management.Cut to January of this year: JCPenney announced it would be combining with retail group SPARC, which owns Aropostale, Brooks Brothers, Eddie Bauer, Forever 21, Lucky Brand, and Nautica, to form Catalyst Brands. Combined, the new Catalyst Brands has more than 1,800 store locations across its portfolio of clothing retailers.And as of yesterday, JCPenney announced it would be closing some of its locations. The common assumption as to the reason behind the closings may be that they are related to the recent Catalyst Brands merger, but in a statement to the media (via Today), JCPenney said the closures were unrelated.The decision to close a store is never an easy one, but isolated closures do happen from time to time due to expiring lease agreements, market changes or other factors, the statement read. These closures are unrelated to the recent Catalyst Brands merger.JCPenney said it does not have plans to significantly reduce our store count but that the closures announced would happen by mid-year.JCPenney closing stores 2025 full listIn total, eight JCPenney locations are included in the announced closures, according to a now-removed list that was published on the website of SB360 Capital Partners. SB360 helps companies manage liquidations, as well as other services. Weve reached out to SB360 to ask why the list no longer appears on its website. JCPenneys store locator currently says the chain has 656 stores in the United States. Here are the JCPenney locations scheduled to close (via Fox Business):CaliforniaThe Shops at Tanforan 1122 El Camino Real, San Bruno, California 94066ColoradoThe Shops at Northfield 8568 E 49th Avenue, Denver, Colorado 80238IdahoPine Ridge Mall 4201 Yellowstone Avenue Pocatello, Idaho 83202KansasWest Ridge Mall 1821 SW Wanamaker RoadTopeka, Kansas 66604MarylandAnnapolis Mall 1695 Annapolis Mall Road, Annapolis, Maryland 21401North CarolinaAsheville Mall 3 S Tunnel Road Asheville, North Carolina 28805New HampshireMall at Fox Run 50 Fox Run Road Newington, New Hampshire 03801West VirginiaCharleston Town Center 401 Lee Street E Charleston, West Virginia 25301Up to 15,000 stores could close in 2025But its not just JCPenney and the other retailers listed above that may see stores close in 2025. According to a January report from Coresight Research, a total of 15,000 stores could close across America this year. Thats a 50% increase from the 10,000 stores that shuttered last year.Whats driving the closures? The reasons will likely be a little different for every retailer, depending on their unique circumstances, but Coresight said two big trends were contributing factors. Those included inflationary pressures, which have led consumers to cut back on spending, and increased online competition from new competitors, including Shein and Temu.