U.S. shopping-mall owners, already hit with store closures by longtime laggard Sears Holding Corp., are now pondering what steps to take if struggling chain J.C. Penney Co. closes some of its 1,104 stores.

Penney hasn't announced any plans to sell or close stores in the wake of posting a $985 million net loss and a 25% decline in sales for its fiscal year ended Feb. 2, a year in which Chief Executive Ron Johnson's abrupt turnaround plan failed to take root.

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