SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Police Department and Crime Stoppers are searching for a person who they say robbed a J.C. Penney at Ingram Park Mall earlier this month. He assaulted an employee before he fled on foot, according to a Crime Stoppers report. Crime Stoppers is willing to pay up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest of the alleged robber. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 210-224-STOP (7867). Tips can also be made by using the P3 Tips app or by texting “Tip 127 plus your tip” to CRIMES (274637).

NEW YORK – Sephora will be replacing all cosmetics areas at Kohl’s with 2,500 square foot shops, starting with 200 locations in the fall of next year. Earlier this month, Target said it would be opening Ulta Beauty shops in more than 100 stores next year. J.C. Penney said its developing its own cosmetics area to replace Sephora when that agreement ends. Rougeot said Sephora was attracted to Kohl's because of its network of 1,100 stores, mostly outside of malls. The Sephora shops, which will feature about 100 brands, will be at the front of Kohl's stores.

NEW YORK – J.C. Penney is on course to emerge from bankruptcy by Thanksgiving, after a U.S. bankruptcy court approved the sale of the ailing 118-year-old retailer to its two largest landlords and its primary lenders. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas approved a purchase agreement, announced earlier this fall, that has substantially all of J.C. Penney’s retail and operating assets acquired by Brookfield Asset Management Inc. and Simon Property Group through a combination of cash and new term loan debt. Meanwhile, Amazon and big discounters like Walmart and Target are only getting stronger as they offer low prices and one-stop shopping. Retailers are worrying about the effects on their business with a surge of new cases all over the country. “Our goal from the beginning of this process has been to ensure J.C. Penney will continue to serve customers for decades to come and this court approval accomplishes that objective,” said Jill Soltau, CEO of J.C. Penney, in a statement.

NEW YORK – Two mall operators filed for bankruptcy protection Monday, hurt by the coronavirus pandemic that has forced their tenants to permanently close stores or not pay rent. Both companies, CBL and Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust, said their malls will remain open as they go through the bankruptcy process. Mall tenants, which operators rely on for rent payments, are also stressed. Based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, CBL operates malls across the U.S., including EastGate Mall in Cincinnati and West County Center in St. Louis. PREIT, based in Philadelphia, has more than 20 properties, including Cherry Hill Mall in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and Viewmont Mall in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

NEW YORK – J.C. Penney believes it will emerge from bankruptcy protection before Christmas under a new ownership agreement that would save tens of thousands of jobs. The beleaguered, century-old retailer said Wednesday that it has filed a draft asset purchase agreement with the two biggest mall owners in the U.S. Substantially all of J.C. Penney's retail and operating assets will be acquired by Brookfield Asset Management Inc. and Simon Property Group through a combination of cash and new term loan debt. Details of the deal that will save roughly 70,000 jobs and avert a total liquidation first emerged last month during a bankruptcy hearing. The Plano, Texas, retailer will shed nearly a third of its stores in the next two years as it restructures, leaving just 600 locations open.

FILE - In this Nov. 24, 2017, file photo, a shopper heads into a J.C. Penney store in Seattle. Mall owners Simon Property Group and Brookfield Property Partners are close to a deal to buy department store chain J.C. Penney out of bankruptcy and keep the chain running, an attorney for Penney's announced Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2020. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)NEW YORK Mall owners Simon Property Group and Brookfield Property Partners are close to a deal to buy department store chain J.C. Penney out of bankruptcy and keep the chain running. We are all committed to moving this quickly and saving J.C. Penney," Sussberg said during the court hearing. Mall owners are facing big challenges as stores close or are unable to pay rent.

NEW YORK NEW YORK (AP) J.C. Penney said Thursday that it will start closing 154 of its stores next week in what it is calling the first phase of its efforts to shrink its footprint. A list of the stores closing was published on Penney's website. Penney filed for bankruptcy protection last month, making it the biggest retailer to do since the coronavirus pandemic forced non-essential stores to be shut down temporarily. J.Crew and Neiman Marcus sought bankruptcy protection days before J.C. Penney. As part of its bankruptcy reorganization, Penney said it planned to permanently close nearly a third of its 846 stores in the next two years.