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The iconic J.C. Penney store in Price is among seven outlets the national retail chain intends to close this spring, a company representative said Wednesday.
Officials at the department store chain's headquarters in Plano, Texas, said the targeted stores, located mostly in smaller markets across the country, would be shuttered in early April.
With its vintage yellow sign and deep ties to longtime city residents, the department store on Price's Main Street has been an enduring presence, shopping destination and social gathering place for generations in the Carbon County community.
"We're definitely sad about it," Tiffany Furner, with the Carbon County Chamber of Commerce in Price, said of Wednesday's news.
The familiar retail outlet for apparel and home furnishings celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2010 with an official ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by state officials, including Utah Gov. Gary Herbert.
The Price store employs 21 people, said a store manager, who referred all further inquiries to the chain's national headquarters.
A national media representative for J.C. Penney did not offer additional details.
The J.C. Penney in White Mountain Mall in Rock Springs, Wyo., is also set to close as part of the company's latest annual performance review of its 1,020 stores nationwide.
Other J.C. Penneys to be closed are in Cupertino, Calif.; Owings Mills, Md.; DeWitt, N.Y.; Cranberry, Pa.; and Morristown, Tenn.
The chain shed 41 stores last year and 33 in 2014 as it continues to grapple with brand identity and balancing in-store sales with online shopping. The latest rounds of closures come less than a week after the publicly traded company touted gains in its 2015 holiday shopping revenues.
Competitor Macy's said last week it would cut up to 4,800 jobs, reorganize its operations and shutter 40 stores.
And a Kmart in North Logan is also set for an April closure, according to a statement from Sears Holdings Corp., its parent company.
Originally called The Golden Rule when it opened in 1910, the Price store was the 12th launched by J.C. Penney. It started a block from its present location, moving to 78 E. Main St. in the mid-1940s.
The small-town store preserved many distinct interior features through the years, endearing it to customers. Residents describe the location as homey and friendly, with plenty of veteran employees providing excellent customer relations.
"That is what has kept us going," corporate spokesman Tim Lyons said in 2010 of the store. "We have many loyal customers in Price who keep coming back, again and again, because of the service they have received."
The closure will lower the number of J.C. Penney stores in Utah to eight, according to a company spokesperson. They include stores in Provo Towne Center; South Towne Mall in Sandy; The District in South Jordan; Valley Fair Mall in West Valley City; Layton Hills Mall in Layton; Cache Valley Mall in Logan; Riverdale Center in Riverdale; and Red Cliffs Mall in St. George.
Twitter: @TonySemerad