it. melanie woodrow has the story from richmond tonight. >> reporter: this j.c. penney at hilltop mall in richmond might not have much. we met customers intent on shopping the store sales before it's too late. the retailer has announced it's closing 138 of its stores nationwide, including this one. >> the department store model is dead. >> reporter: john is the ceo of a commercial real estate brokerage firm. he calls internet shopping the final nail in the coffin of large department stores. >> there needs to be a reasonson for the place that can't be replicated on the internet. >> reporter: the move will allow the company to adjust its business to compete against the growing threat of online retailers. >> i'd like to see something around some kind of family-oriented -- maybe some kind of recreation for the younger kids, the teenagers. >> lots of different ethnic food styles that i think people would really dig to have in the mall. >> reporter: other flagship stores here like macy's...