Imagine going to the mall and not being able to shop at Debs, Wet Seal, or JCPenney. Many shoppers will soon experience this as the York Galleria faces a mass retail shutdown that may put the entire mall at risk.  According to Brett Sholtis of the York Daily Record, The JCPenney at York Galleria is one of 39 locations that will be closing nationwide, The Wet Seal will be one of 338, and Debs declared in November that they will be shutting down all of their locations. Sholtis reports that closing the JCPenney in York was not an easy choice to make, but the company has decided that it is needed in order to meet company goals and to have the company continue to grow. Though it seems odd that all of these stores are closing at once, Sholtis writes that stores that are doing well do not close. In this economy, many stores are suffering, and it is vital that under-performing stores are closed to keep the companies alive at all.

The takeover of online shopping may also be contributing to the under-performance of these stores. Susquehannock librarian Sandy May says she only goes to the mall a couple times a year and does more of her shopping through online stores that do not have any local locations.

“I’d say [I go to the York Galleria] maybe two or three times a year,” said May. “I’ve been shopping more online than I have in the past.”

With the closing of a large store like JCPenney, many people are concerned about the many people who will be left unemployed. Sholtis writes there will be about 75 unemployed people from the closing of JCPenney in York alone, but adds that they will be offering separation benefits for employees who do not stay with the company and will help associates find other jobs along with holding an on-site career training class.

As far as the impact the closings are having on the mall, Sholtis reports that it is too early to know what will be replacing the stores, but they are usually successful in finding replacement stores in a timely manner. York Galleria may not be in the clear yet though, as Sholtis reports that Sears, Bon-Ton, and Boscov’s have been under-performing and may soon be leaving the mall as well. As of right now, JCPenney is scheduled to close on or around April 4. Debs has not announced an official close date, but has begun its going out of business sales. Wet Seal has not officially announced their close date either, but the York Galleria location appears to be completely empty, and there are no employees working in the store.

Many shoppers are also upset over the many stores closing at the Galleria. Senior Brandi Bradford is a frequent shopper at Wet Seal. She usually goes to Wet Seal to buy her accessories and shirts and is concerned over the store closing.

“I’m upset,” said Bradford. “Wet Seal is where I go. Wet Seal had reasonable prices and nice clothes. In the back of the store there were always sales.”

Bradford says she always sees expensive stores at the Galleria that not many people can afford and hopes to see an affordable store go into the place of Wet Seal that will offer clothing for teens.

Senior Ashley Rosenberger, an avid shopper at Debs, is also upset and concerned for the Galleria to see all these stores closing at once.

“I shopped at Debs a lot,” said Rosenberger. “I had a bunch of gift cards to there, and I even just got one for Wet Seal.”

Rosenberger hopes to see the mall replace JCPenney’s with another large department store, like Macy’s, and says she will probably shop at Kohl’s and Charlotte Russe, along with any other stores that are still aimed towards teen shoppers. While it may be disappointing to see these stores closing, shoppers can look forward to new stores coming to the Galleria in 2015.