J.C. Penney to open at 8 p.m on Thanksgiving

10/19/2013

NEW YORK — J.C. Penney is opening its doors on Thanksgiving evening to kick off the holiday shopping season, as the beleaguered retailer hopes to get back in the game for the crucial selling period.

The Plano, Texas-based chain will open most of its 1,100 stores at 8 p.m. on the holiday, the same as rival Macy’s, and will be open 25 hours straight, closing at 9 p.m. Friday.

The Thanksgiving evening opening is much earlier than last year, when Penney did not open until 6 a.m. Friday.

Penney said it would hire at least 35,000 seasonal workers for the holidays, nearly 50 percent more than a year ago.