JC Penney storefront in Kingsford.

KINGSFORD — J.C. Penney Company, Inc., has announced it will close 138 stores, including its locations in Kingsford, Escanaba, Houghton, Sault Ste. Marie and Marinette, Wis.

Most stores will begin the liquidation process April 17, and close in June, according to a company press release.

The move will affect about 5,000 positions nationwide, the release states.

“J.C. Penney is in the process of identifying relocation opportunities within the company for esteemed leaders,” the release states. “Additionally, J.C. Penney will provide outplacement support services for those eligible associates who will be leaving the company.”

In addition to the store closures, J.C. Penney will shut down one supply chain facility in Lakeland, Fla., and relocate another supply chain facility in Buena Park, Calif.

The Plano, Texas-based company announced in February it would close 130 to 140 stores as well as two distribution centers over the next several months as it tries to improve profitability. The company said that it would also initiate a voluntary early retirement program for about 6,000 eligible employees.

The news came as Penney posted a profit for the fourth quarter, compared to a loss a year ago. But total sales were down slightly, and a key revenue metric declined a bit as well. The company issued a conservative annual forecast.

CEO Marvin Ellison acknowledged earlier this year that Penney wasn’t strategic with promotions, which hurt profit margins, and said that its level of couponing was “unhealthy.” It plans to use a more data-driven approach to pricing this year after testing the strategy in some categories last year.

Like other department stores, J.C. Penney is trying to adjust to changing shopping patterns. But it is also still recovering from a catastrophic reinvention plan under a former CEO that sent sales and profits freefalling starting in 2012. Since then, it has focused efforts on its home area, started selling major appliances again and expanded its number of in-store Sephora beauty shops.

While its annual sales still shrunk, what’s encouraging is Penney’s profit picture. Penney was able to pull in a $1 million profit for the full fiscal year, the first time it earned an annual profit since 2010. The stores it is closing represent about 13 percent to 14 percent of its current store count of about 1,000, but less than 5 percent of total annual sales.

“With a slimmed-down store portfolio, (J.C. Penney) will be able to focus on making its remaining stores more of a destination,” said Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail. “This is essential, as while progress has been made on categories like home, other departments still require attention.”

Given the environment, Penney wants to be less dependent on clothing. It’s rolled out major appliances in 500 stores and plans to add 100 more appliance showrooms this year. It has updated its beauty salons, now branded Salon by InStyle. It is also beefing up its store label brands like St. John’s Bay. In the fourth quarter, top-performing areas included home, Sephora, its salon business and fine jewelry. Last year, it added 61 Sephora stores for a total of 577. This year, it’s adding 77 more.