J.C. Penney announced on Friday that it plans to close between 130 and 140 stores over the next few months.

The national retailer has not yet announced which stores will close, but is expected to release that information in mid-March.

J.C. Penney has stores at the Eastwood Mall in Niles, the Southern Park Mall in Boardman, the Shenango Valley Mall in Hermitage, the Austintown Plaza, and the Summit Square Shopping Center in East Liverpool.

The company says the closings are planned to redirect resources to locations that offer the greatest revenue potential.

"We believe closing stores will also allow us to adjust our business to effectively compete against the growing threat of online retailers." said Marvin R. Ellison, chairman and chief executive officer of J.C. Penney.

Brick and mortar department stores are facing huge challenges from consumers' growing preference to make purchases online.

Earlier this year, Macy's and Sears announced they would be closing their stores at the Shenango Valley Mall.

The company also announced on Friday that is initiating a voluntary early retirement program for approximately 6,000 eligible employees.

“By coordinating the timing of these two events, we can expect to see a net increase in hiring as the number of full-time associates expected to take advantage of the early retirement incentive will far exceed the number of full-time positions affected by the store closures," added Ellison.

The news release from J.C. Penney may be read here.