NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
Department store chain J.C. Penney plans to close 12 more of its namesake department stores by the end of the year, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The Plano, Texas-based company said in its quarterly report filed late Monday that it would have closed a total of 25 U.S.-based department stores by the end of the year, with 13 of the closings having already taken place.
"The stores that are in the process of closing are scattered all over the country and they're our lower-performing stores," said Penney spokesman Tim Lyons.
Penney wouldn't specify the cities but said the stores are located in the states of Kansas, Texas, Michigan, Ohio, Missouri, California and Oklahoma.
Separately, Penney recently announced it was looking for buyers for its troubled Eckerd drugstore chain, which has continued to face problems with pricing, store locations and inventory. Penney posted a lower third-quarter profit last month, citing Eckerd's woes.
Eckerd accounts for nearly half of Penney's total sales, which last year came in at $32.3 billion. One analyst who did not want to be named said he suspects all the bids for Eckerd are already in and he estimates the selling price to be between $3 billion and $3.5 billion. Penney paid $3.3 billion for Eckerd when it acquired the company in 1996.
The company currently runs 1,032 J.C. Penney department stores throughout the United States and 2,735 Eckerd drugstores.
Penney (JCP: up $0.18 to $24.24, Research, Estimates) shares were slightly higher Tuesday.
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