Oct. 22, 2021

The Empire Mall JCPenney is among the first in the company to get an updated look, with an extensive refresh underway.

“There’s quite a bit that’s changing,” general manager Grace Lehner said. “All the carpet, flooring, fitting rooms, paint interior and exterior, all new lighting throughout the whole store.”

The biggest change: A centralized checkout area, which will be accessed from the east doors facing Louise Avenue.

“You can check out in one big spot, so that will be awesome for customers to not walk by empty registers,” Lehner said, adding the east doors are “really underutilized, so it will be great to get traffic in there, and it’s a beeline to the mall.”

The overall design will be bright, she added.

“All the fitting rooms are white with nice white flooring, and the lighting just made all the difference. To modernize our lights made it a lot brighter.”

The Sioux Falls store has a history of being a top performer within the company, and that has only grown, Lehner said.

The location is “in the top 10 percent of all JCPenneys as far as sales volume and dollar per square foot,” she said. “It’s a one-story mall, which is unique as well. We sell a ton considering the square footage and the footprint.”

The Empire Mall JCPenney dates back to the 1970s and is a staple with shoppers, she added. That’s especially true for those outside the city limits.

“There are only two JCPenneys in all of South Dakota, and the majority of our customers don’t have a Sioux Falls ZIP code, and it’s becoming even more so, which is exciting to serve the state in that way,” Lehner said. “They come here and won’t be back in Sioux Falls for a month, so we’re seeing a lot bigger basket size.”

Curbside ordering, which was introduced last year, also has grown the business, and it’s not uncommon to see hundreds of orders placed online in a day, she added.

Luckily, there’s a lot to sell at the moment, she said. While many retailers are struggling with inventory, “we’re super and encouraged by what we’re getting in right now,” Lehner said. “We’re getting in more merchandise than we’ve ever had in the last five years in the last month or two. There are some really nice fall goods, so we’re excited to be filled up for the holiday season.”

The holiday season at JCPenney is shaping up somewhat different than in other years, with Black Friday deals running throughout November and changing weekly.

The store will be closed on Thanksgiving.

And here’s a retail rarity: This location is fully staffed on its management team and for full-time positions.

“There’s a great culture here, but we are looking for part-time help,” Lehner said. “We’ll be extending our hours. So we’re looking to add about 50 part-time associates between now and Christmas.”

More updates are coming too. With Sephora leaving JCPenney, a future addition will be a revamped beauty section called JCPenney Beauty. It will include a various of curated brands.

New outdoor apparel shops in men’s and women’s departments also have proven popular, Lehner said.

“I feel more confident about the future of JCPenney now than when I started working here 10 years ago,” she added. “We’re having awesome results.”