Lee Bird

When J.C. Penney announced this month that it would shutter 40 U.S. stores, At Home Group Inc. saw an opening. Executives at the retail chain, which sells home decor in warehouses and other large spaces, checked the list of targeted stores and called J.C. Penney within a few hours to express interest in buying some of them. It helps that At Home had already researched J.C. Penney's more than 1,000 U.S. locations ahead of time, just as a shopper would gear up for a big sale.