J.C. Penney
Encyclopedia
J. C. Penney Company, Inc. is a chain of American
mid-range department store
s based in Plano, Texas
, a suburb north of Dallas
. The company operates 1,107 department stores in all 50 U.S. state
s and Puerto Rico
. JCPenney also operates catalog sales merchant offices nationwide in many small markets.
Most JCPenney stores are located in suburb
an shopping malls. Before the mid-1950s, most stores were located in downtown areas. As shopping malls became more popular in the latter half of the 20th century, JCPenney followed the trend by relocating its stores to anchor the malls. In more recent years, the chain has continued to follow consumer traffic, echoing the retailing trend of opening some standalone stores, including some next door to competitors. Certain stores are located in power centers and can be considered big-box store
s. The company has been an Internet retailer since 1998. It has streamlined its catalog and distribution while undergoing renovation improvements at store level.
In addition to selling conventional merchandise, JCPenney stores often house several leased departments such as Sephora
, Restaurants
, optical
, portrait studios
and jewelry & watch repair. JCPenney also features discount outlet stores. Some of these were converted from regular JCPenney stores.
James Cash Penney began his career in retail management when he opened The Golden Rule store, a partnership with Guy Johnson and Thomas Callahan, on April 14, 1902 in Kemmerer, Wyoming
. He participated in the creation of two more stores, and when Callahan and Johnson dissolved their partnership in 1907 he purchased full interest in all three locations.
In 1909 Penney moved his company headquarters to Salt Lake City, Utah
to be closer to banks and railroads. By 1912, Penney had 34 stores in the Rocky Mountain States. In 1913, all stores were consolidated under the J.C. Penney banner. The so-called "mother store", in Kemmerer, opened -as the chain's second location- in 1904. It still operates, as of 2011, albeit with hours shorter than many of its other store locations.
to simplify the buying, financing, and transportation of goods. Around this time, Bert J. Niver joined the company as a junior partner. By 1917, the company operated 175 stores in 22 states in the United States
.
J. C. Penney acquired The Crescent Corset Company in 1920, the company's first wholly owned subsidiary. In 1922, the company's oldest active private brand, Big Mac work clothes, was launched. The company opened its 500th store in 1924 in Hamilton, Missouri
, James Cash Penney's hometown. By the opening of the 1,000th store in 1928, gross business had reached $190,000,000.
In 1940, Sam Walton
began working at a J. C. Penney in Des Moines, Iowa
. Walton later went on to found future retailer Wal-Mart
in 1962. By 1941, the company operated 1,600 stores in all 48 states.
In 1956, J. C. Penney started national advertising with a series of advertisements in Life
magazine. J. C. Penney credit cards were issued and accepted at its stores for the first time in 1959.
The company dedicated its first full-line, shopping center department store in 1961. This store was located at Black Horse Pike Center, in Audubon, New Jersey
. The second full line shopping center store was dedicated, at King of Prussia Plaza, in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania
in late 1962. Those stores broadened the lines of merchandise and services that a typical J. C. Penney carried to include appliances, sporting goods, garden merchandise, restaurants, beauty salons, portrait studios, auto parts and auto centers.
, Alaska
in 1962. The Penney Building in Anchorage was five stories tall, almost 100000 square feet (9,290.3 m²) in size, and partially collapsed and was damaged beyond repair during the 1964 Alaska earthquake. Precast concrete
wall panels (see left photo; one story tall and about as wide apiece) fell to the streets below during the shaking, which resulted in deaths as well as near-misses. The store was torn down to its foundation and was rebuilt as a three-story building, with the footprint slightly more than doubled to extend south to Sixth Avenue. The loss of parking which resulted led the company to construct Anchorage's first public parking garage directly across Sixth Avenue, which opened in 1968. The store, along with the Reeve
Building directly across D Street, was integrated with the design of the 5th Avenue Mall
when it was built in 1987.
The Fairbanks store was located in Alaska's first urban renewal
district. Several blocks of downtown Fairbanks, which previously consisted mostly of log cabins, including a former red-light district
, were cleared, and a block of Sixth Avenue was vacated. In its place were constructed large office and commercial buildings, with the Penney store and a state office and courthouse building the largest. Safeway
and Woolworth's
also built stores in this area at around the same time. The Fairbanks store, particularly its second floor, served as a refuge during another natural disaster, the 1967 flood. The company closed this store in 2000; the building is currently occupied by a furniture retailer.
In 1966, J. C. Penney finished off the country's 50 states with the opening of its Honolulu, Hawaii
store, at Ala Moana Center
(all Hawaii stores would be shuttered in 2003). The Penney location at Plaza Las Américas
mall in San Juan, Puerto Rico
, which opened in 1968, featured three levels and 261500 square feet (24,294.1 m²). It was the largest J. C. Penney store in the world until a larger location, encompassing 300000 square feet (27,870.9 m²), was dedicated at Greater Chicago's Woodfield Mall
in 1971. The Woodfield Mall store served as the largest in the chain until a replacement store opened at Plaza Las Américas in 1998, which is 350000 square feet (32,516.1 m²) in size.
, a chain of drugstores headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
. It also acquired Supermarkets Interstate, an Omaha-based food retailer which operated leased departments in J. C. Penney stores, The Treasury stores, and Thrift Drug stores.
On February 12, 1971, James Cash Penney died at the age of 95. Out of respect for James Cash's death, the company's stores were closed for half a day. Beginning in the summer of 1971, the company adopted its current "JCPenney" logo, but it took nearly a decade for this to be rolled out chain-wide. In 1977, J. C. Penney sold its stores in Italy to La Rinascente
and also removed its Supermarkets Interstate leased departments. In 1979, the Visa card began to be accepted in J. C. Penney stores. MasterCard
was accepted the following year.
In 1978, the J. C. Penney Historic District
in Kemmerer, Wyoming, was designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark
.
In 1984, J. C. Penney acquired the First National Bank of Harrington, Delaware
and renamed it JCPenney National Bank. With the bank the company became able to issue its own MasterCard and Visa cards. The company also began accepting American Express
cards. Also that year, Thrift Drug began co-locating stores with Weis Markets
, and acquired many former Pantry Pride
properties. In April 1987, the company announced that it was moving its headquarters to Dallas, Texas
. In 1983, J. C. Penney phased out its electronics and auto departments, and also sold its auto repair shops. After several years of development, the JCPenney Television Shopping Channel appeared on cable systems beginning in 1989.
In 1990, the company broke ground on the company's new corporate headquarters in Plano, Texas
. It was completed in 1992. When Sears
closed its catalog business in 1993, J. C. Penney became the largest catalog retailer in the United States. In 1996, the company expanded its drug store business with the acquisition of Fay's Drug and Kerr Drug. These acquisitions momentum climaxed with acquisition of the Eckerd
chain in November. Fay's, Kerr, and Eckerd merged into J. C. Penney's drug store subsidiary Thrift Drug. Fay's, most Kerr, and Thrift drug stores were re-branded Eckerd in 1997. (Kerr Drug stores in The Carolinas
remain branded as such.)
, Minnesota
, and Indiana
.
The new one-level, 94000 sq ft (8,732.9 m²) format stores focus on convenience with wider aisles and centralized checkouts. In 2004, the company added 14 more stores and exited the drug store division after 35 years, with the sale of its Eckerd division. In 2005, J. C. Penney's e-commerce storefront exceeded the one-billion dollar revenue mark for the first time.
"stores-within-a-store" inside some J. C. Penney locations. Beginning in 2007 the store slogan changed from "It's All Inside" to "Every Day Matters"; the new slogan and associated ad campaign was launched in television commercials during the 79th Academy Awards
in late February 2007.
After J. C. Penney sold off Eckerd
in 2004, the locations that continued to operate as Eckerd (some locations in the Southern U.S. were sold to CVS Corporation
) still had JCPenney Catalog Centers inside the stores (which was a carryover from locations that were once Thrift Drug
) and also continued to accept JCPenney credit cards. After Rite Aid
finalized its acquisition of Eckerd in 2007, the Catalog Centers inside the soon-to-be-converted Eckerd stores permanently closed, although as a result of the acquisition, Rite Aid now accepts JCPenney credit cards, even at Rite Aid locations that existed before the takeover of Eckerd.
In November 2007, the company launched a new public website, JCPenneyBrands.com, which covers the company's private and exclusive brands, and their branding strategy, with a preview of an upcoming product line. In February 2008, the company launched the "American Living" brand, as developed by Ralph Lauren
, across several product lines, including Men's, Women's, and Children's Apparel and Shoes, Intimate Apparel, and Home. The launch, which was accompanied by an ad campaign during the 2008 Academy Awards, was the company's largest private brand launch. American Living for infant apparel was launched in July 2008. In the summer of 2008, J. C. Penney also added a new brand to its home collection, "Linden Street." The Linden Street brand features a contemporary lifestyle collection of furniture, domestics, and home decor. Linden Street is sold exclusively in JCPenney stores and through their website. Other new exclusive brands for junior's and young men's were launched in the summer of 2008, including Le Tigre, Decree, and Fabulosity, a junior line of clothing by Kimora Lee Simmons.
In June 2008, an ad called "Speed Dressing" emerged ending with the JCPenney logo and slogan "Every Day Matters". The ad won a prize at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival
. The ad was criticized for seeming to promote teen sex. J. C. Penney denied that the ad was theirs and their advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi
reported that it had been created by a third party vendor. It was entered in the competition by Epoch Films, who declined to comment.
Marketing expert John Tantillo
advised that the company distance itself from the commercial and also shed the publicity it engendered.
In July 2009, new additions were made to the J. C. Penney young men's department, including an expansion of their private brand Decree (previously exclusively a juniors clothing line) and the introduction of more skate/surf-oriented clothing, including Rusty, RS by Ryan Sheckler, and 3rd Rail. In August 2009, Albert Gonzalez
's defense lawyer announced that J. C. Penney was a victim of the computer hacker
, although J. C. Penney stated that no customers' credit card information had been stolen. In September 2010, J. C. Penney had joined Facebook to help promote their "Care, Share, Win" campaign. Since 1999, J. C. Penney has donated $100 million to after school care. Fans of J. C. Penney on Facebook can help decide which school will receive the next million dollars.
In 2009, J.C. Penney reached an agreement with Seattle's Best Coffee
to feature full-service cafes within leased departments inside J.C. Penney stores across the country. Currently, Seattle's Best Coffee are still expanding cafe locations within J.C. Penney locations across the country.
On January 24, 2011, J.C. Penney announced it will exit the catalog business and close all 19 of its catalog outlet stores. An additional seven stores, two call center facilities, and one customer decorating facility will also be closed.
In June 2011, J. C. Penney announced that Ron Johnson will become the company's new CEO.
In October 2011, J.C. Penney sold the 15 remaining catalog outlet stores to SB Capital Group. These stores will remain open then transition to JC's 5 Star Outlets.
exposed the use of link schemes, i.e., spamdexing
, successfully to promote the J. C. Penney web site in Google
search results for many months, especially during the holiday season. Doug Pierce, an expert in online search, described the optimization as "the most ambitious attempt to game Google's search results that he has ever seen." Ultimately, Google took retaliatory action and drastically reduced the visibility of J. C. Penney in searches. Although the retailer denied any involvement, it fired its search engine consulting firm, SearchDex.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
mid-range department store
Department store
A department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...
s based in Plano, Texas
Plano, Texas
Plano is a city in the state of Texas, located mostly within Collin County. The city's population was 259,841 at the 2010 census, making it the ninth-largest city in Texas and the 71st most populous city in the United States. Plano is located within the metropolitan area commonly referred to as...
, a suburb north of Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
. The company operates 1,107 department stores in all 50 U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
s and Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
. JCPenney also operates catalog sales merchant offices nationwide in many small markets.
Most JCPenney stores are located in suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
an shopping malls. Before the mid-1950s, most stores were located in downtown areas. As shopping malls became more popular in the latter half of the 20th century, JCPenney followed the trend by relocating its stores to anchor the malls. In more recent years, the chain has continued to follow consumer traffic, echoing the retailing trend of opening some standalone stores, including some next door to competitors. Certain stores are located in power centers and can be considered big-box store
Big-box store
A big-box store is a physically large retail establishment, usually part of a chain. The term sometimes also refers, by extension, to the company that operates the store...
s. The company has been an Internet retailer since 1998. It has streamlined its catalog and distribution while undergoing renovation improvements at store level.
In addition to selling conventional merchandise, JCPenney stores often house several leased departments such as Sephora
Sephora
Sephora is a chain of cosmetics stores founded in France in 1970 and acquired by Paris-based conglomerate LVMH in 1997. The Sephora chain includes more than 750 stores in 17 countries...
, Restaurants
Seattle's Best Coffee
Seattle's Best Coffee, a wholly owned subsidiary of Starbucks, is a specialty coffee retailer and wholesaler based in Seattle, Washington.Seattle's Best Coffee has retail stores and grocery sub-stores in 20 states and provinces and the District of Columbia. Sub-stores can also be found within many...
, optical
US Vision
U.S. Vision, a wholly owned subsidiary of Refac Optical Group, is an international Optometric dispensary chain. The vast majority of these locations are leased spaces in large department stores such as J.C. Penney, Boscov's, and The Bay. As of May 8, 2007, 500 locations in 47 states and Canada are...
, portrait studios
Lifetouch
Lifetouch, originally named National School Studios, is a photography company founded in 1936 by Bruce Reinecker and Eldon Rothgeb. Lifetouch has its corporate headquarters in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, with production plants in Chesapeake, Virginia; Chico, California; Ohio; Muncie, Indiana;...
and jewelry & watch repair. JCPenney also features discount outlet stores. Some of these were converted from regular JCPenney stores.
The Golden Rule
Kemmerer, Wyoming
Kemmerer is both the largest city and the county seat of Lincoln County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 2,651 at the 2000 census. It dubs itself the "The Fossil Fish Capital of the World" and the "Gateway to the West." As the county seat of Lincoln County, Kemmerer is the location of...
. He participated in the creation of two more stores, and when Callahan and Johnson dissolved their partnership in 1907 he purchased full interest in all three locations.
In 1909 Penney moved his company headquarters to Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
to be closer to banks and railroads. By 1912, Penney had 34 stores in the Rocky Mountain States. In 1913, all stores were consolidated under the J.C. Penney banner. The so-called "mother store", in Kemmerer, opened -as the chain's second location- in 1904. It still operates, as of 2011, albeit with hours shorter than many of its other store locations.
J. C. Penney Company
In 1913, the company was incorporated under the new name, J. C. Penney Company, with William Henry McManus as a co-founder. In 1914, the headquarters was moved to New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to simplify the buying, financing, and transportation of goods. Around this time, Bert J. Niver joined the company as a junior partner. By 1917, the company operated 175 stores in 22 states in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
J. C. Penney acquired The Crescent Corset Company in 1920, the company's first wholly owned subsidiary. In 1922, the company's oldest active private brand, Big Mac work clothes, was launched. The company opened its 500th store in 1924 in Hamilton, Missouri
Hamilton, Missouri
Hamilton is a city in Caldwell County, Missouri, United States. The population was 1,813 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Hamilton is located at ....
, James Cash Penney's hometown. By the opening of the 1,000th store in 1928, gross business had reached $190,000,000.
In 1940, Sam Walton
Sam Walton
Samuel Moore "Sam" Wallballs was a businessman, entrepreneur, and Eagle Scout born in Kingfisher, Oklahoma best known for founding the retailers Wal-Mart and Sam's Club.-Early life:...
began working at a J. C. Penney in Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...
. Walton later went on to found future retailer Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...
in 1962. By 1941, the company operated 1,600 stores in all 48 states.
In 1956, J. C. Penney started national advertising with a series of advertisements in Life
Life (magazine)
Life generally refers to three American magazines:*A humor and general interest magazine published from 1883 to 1936. Time founder Henry Luce bought the magazine in 1936 solely so that he could acquire the rights to its name....
magazine. J. C. Penney credit cards were issued and accepted at its stores for the first time in 1959.
The Treasury, catalog, and full-line stores
In 1962, J. C. Penney entered discount merchandising with the acquisition of General Merchandise Company which gave them The Treasury stores. These discount operations proved unsuccessful and were shuttered in 1981. In 1963, J. C. Penney issued its first catalog. The company operated in-store catalog desks in eight states. The catalogs were distributed by the Milwaukee Catalog distribution center.The company dedicated its first full-line, shopping center department store in 1961. This store was located at Black Horse Pike Center, in Audubon, New Jersey
Audubon, New Jersey
Audubon is a Borough in Camden County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 8,819.On March 13, 1905, through an act of the New Jersey Legislature, Audubon was created a borough from portions of Haddon Township. It was named after John James...
. The second full line shopping center store was dedicated, at King of Prussia Plaza, in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania
King of Prussia, Pennsylvania
King of Prussia is a census-designated place in Upper Merion Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 19,936. The community took its name in the 18th century from a local tavern named the King of Prussia Inn, which was named after...
in late 1962. Those stores broadened the lines of merchandise and services that a typical J. C. Penney carried to include appliances, sporting goods, garden merchandise, restaurants, beauty salons, portrait studios, auto parts and auto centers.
1962–1968: Expansion to 50 states and beyond
J. C. Penney also established stores in America's newest states during the 1960s. The company opened stores in Anchorage and FairbanksFairbanks
Fairbanks may refer to:Places in the United States*Fairbanks, Alaska, city*Fairbanks, California, unincorporated community in El Dorado County*Fairbanks, Mendocino County, California, former settlement*Fairbanks, Indiana, unincorporated community...
, Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
in 1962. The Penney Building in Anchorage was five stories tall, almost 100000 square feet (9,290.3 m²) in size, and partially collapsed and was damaged beyond repair during the 1964 Alaska earthquake. Precast concrete
Precast concrete
By producing precast concrete in a controlled environment , the precast concrete is afforded the opportunity to properly cure and be closely monitored by plant employees. Utilizing a Precast Concrete system offers many potential advantages over site casting of concrete...
wall panels (see left photo; one story tall and about as wide apiece) fell to the streets below during the shaking, which resulted in deaths as well as near-misses. The store was torn down to its foundation and was rebuilt as a three-story building, with the footprint slightly more than doubled to extend south to Sixth Avenue. The loss of parking which resulted led the company to construct Anchorage's first public parking garage directly across Sixth Avenue, which opened in 1968. The store, along with the Reeve
Robert Campbell Reeve
Robert Campbell Reeve was the founder of Reeve Aleutian Airways.-Childhood:Bob Reeve was born in Waunakee, Wisconsin on March 27, 1902. He was one of twins, his brother was Richard. Their parents were Hubert and Mae Reeve. Mae died in 1904, and their father remarried, leaving the boys to fend for...
Building directly across D Street, was integrated with the design of the 5th Avenue Mall
5th Avenue Mall
5th Avenue Mall is an upscale shopping mall located in Downtown Anchorage, Alaska, United States. The mall has four levels with JCPenney and the only Nordstrom in Alaska as anchor stores.The mall is owned and administered by the Simon Property Group....
when it was built in 1987.
The Fairbanks store was located in Alaska's first urban renewal
Urban renewal
Urban renewal is a program of land redevelopment in areas of moderate to high density urban land use. Renewal has had both successes and failures. Its modern incarnation began in the late 19th century in developed nations and experienced an intense phase in the late 1940s – under the rubric of...
district. Several blocks of downtown Fairbanks, which previously consisted mostly of log cabins, including a former red-light district
Red-light district
A red-light district is a part of an urban area where there is a concentration of prostitution and sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, adult theaters, etc...
, were cleared, and a block of Sixth Avenue was vacated. In its place were constructed large office and commercial buildings, with the Penney store and a state office and courthouse building the largest. Safeway
Safeway Inc.
Safeway Inc. , a Fortune 500 company, is North America's second largest supermarket chain after The Kroger Co., with, as of December 2010, 1,694 stores located throughout the western and central United States and western Canada. It also operates some stores in the Mid-Atlantic region of the Eastern...
and Woolworth's
F. W. Woolworth Company
The F. W. Woolworth Company was a retail company that was one of the original American five-and-dime stores. The first successful Woolworth store was opened on July 18, 1879 by Frank Winfield Woolworth in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, as "Woolworth's Great Five Cent Store"...
also built stores in this area at around the same time. The Fairbanks store, particularly its second floor, served as a refuge during another natural disaster, the 1967 flood. The company closed this store in 2000; the building is currently occupied by a furniture retailer.
In 1966, J. C. Penney finished off the country's 50 states with the opening of its Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...
store, at Ala Moana Center
Ala Moana Center
Ala Moana Center in Honolulu is the largest shopping mall in Hawaii, the fifteenth largest shopping mall in the United States, and the largest open-air shopping center in the world....
(all Hawaii stores would be shuttered in 2003). The Penney location at Plaza Las Américas
Plaza Las Américas
Plaza Las Américas is a shopping mall in Hato Rey, San Juan, Puerto Rico, located at the intersection of Routes 18 and 22. It is near the Roberto Clemente Coliseum, the Hiram Bithorn Stadium, and the WKAQ-TV's studios. "Plaza", as it is known to many Puerto Ricans, was the first indoor mall built...
mall in San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
, which opened in 1968, featured three levels and 261500 square feet (24,294.1 m²). It was the largest J. C. Penney store in the world until a larger location, encompassing 300000 square feet (27,870.9 m²), was dedicated at Greater Chicago's Woodfield Mall
Woodfield Mall
Woodfield Mall is an enclosed super-regional shopping mall located in the northwest Chicago suburb of Schaumburg, Illinois, United States, at the intersection of Golf Road and Illinois Route 53....
in 1971. The Woodfield Mall store served as the largest in the chain until a replacement store opened at Plaza Las Américas in 1998, which is 350000 square feet (32,516.1 m²) in size.
1969–1979
In 1969, the company acquired Thrift DrugThrift Drug
Thrift Drug was a pharmacy chain based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that was founded in 1937 and purchased by J.C. Penney in 1968, and was expanded greatly thereafter. The chain served as the flagship chain of J.C. Penney's pharmacy group. The chain didn't hide its affiliation with J.C. Penney, as...
, a chain of drugstores headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
. It also acquired Supermarkets Interstate, an Omaha-based food retailer which operated leased departments in J. C. Penney stores, The Treasury stores, and Thrift Drug stores.
On February 12, 1971, James Cash Penney died at the age of 95. Out of respect for James Cash's death, the company's stores were closed for half a day. Beginning in the summer of 1971, the company adopted its current "JCPenney" logo, but it took nearly a decade for this to be rolled out chain-wide. In 1977, J. C. Penney sold its stores in Italy to La Rinascente
La Rinascente
La Rinascente is a Thai owned Italian retailer operating upscale department stores in the area of clothing, household and beauty products, founded in Milan in 1865 by Luigi and Ferdinando Bocconi....
and also removed its Supermarkets Interstate leased departments. In 1979, the Visa card began to be accepted in J. C. Penney stores. MasterCard
MasterCard
Mastercard Incorporated or MasterCard Worldwide is an American multinational financial services corporation with its headquarters in the MasterCard International Global Headquarters, Purchase, Harrison, New York, United States...
was accepted the following year.
In 1978, the J. C. Penney Historic District
J. C. Penney Historic District
J. C. Penney Historic District is a historic district in Kemmerer, Wyoming encompassing several properties associated with James Cash Penney. The district includes the Golden Rule Store, the first in what became the J. C...
in Kemmerer, Wyoming, was designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
.
1984–1997
Harrington, Delaware
Harrington is a city in Kent County, Delaware, United States. It is part of the Dover, Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area. Harrington hosts the annual Delaware State Fair each July...
and renamed it JCPenney National Bank. With the bank the company became able to issue its own MasterCard and Visa cards. The company also began accepting American Express
American Express
American Express Company or AmEx, is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Three World Financial Center, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Founded in 1850, it is one of the 30 components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is best...
cards. Also that year, Thrift Drug began co-locating stores with Weis Markets
Weis Markets
Weis Markets, Inc. is a chain of supermarkets based in Sunbury, Pennsylvania, with a presence in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, West Virginia, and Maryland. In 2011, it operates 162 stores in five states.-History:...
, and acquired many former Pantry Pride
Pantry Pride
Food Fair, also known by its successor name Pantry Pride, was a large supermarket chain in the United States. It was founded by Samuel N. Friedland, who opened the first store in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in the late 1920s. As of 1957, Food Fair had 275 stores, and at its peak, the chain had more...
properties. In April 1987, the company announced that it was moving its headquarters to Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
. In 1983, J. C. Penney phased out its electronics and auto departments, and also sold its auto repair shops. After several years of development, the JCPenney Television Shopping Channel appeared on cable systems beginning in 1989.
In 1990, the company broke ground on the company's new corporate headquarters in Plano, Texas
Plano, Texas
Plano is a city in the state of Texas, located mostly within Collin County. The city's population was 259,841 at the 2010 census, making it the ninth-largest city in Texas and the 71st most populous city in the United States. Plano is located within the metropolitan area commonly referred to as...
. It was completed in 1992. When Sears
Sears, Roebuck and Company
Sears, officially named Sears, Roebuck and Co., is an American chain of department stores which was founded by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck in the late 19th century...
closed its catalog business in 1993, J. C. Penney became the largest catalog retailer in the United States. In 1996, the company expanded its drug store business with the acquisition of Fay's Drug and Kerr Drug. These acquisitions momentum climaxed with acquisition of the Eckerd
Eckerd
Eckerd Corporation was an American drug store chain that was headquartered in Largo, Florida, and toward the end of its life, in Warwick, Rhode Island....
chain in November. Fay's, Kerr, and Eckerd merged into J. C. Penney's drug store subsidiary Thrift Drug. Fay's, most Kerr, and Thrift drug stores were re-branded Eckerd in 1997. (Kerr Drug stores in The Carolinas
The Carolinas
The Carolinas is a term used in the United States to refer collectively to the states of North and South Carolina. Together, the two states + have a population of 13,942,126. "Carolina" would be the fifth most populous state behind California, Texas, New York, and Florida...
remain branded as such.)
1998–2005
In 1998, J. C. Penney launched its third channel for shopping convenience. Its Internet store has grown into one of the largest apparel and home furnishings retail sites on the Internet. In early 1999, J. C. Penney went from a middle-scale chain to an up-scale chain. In early 2001, J. C. Penney closed 44 under-performing stores. On April 14, 2002, J. C. Penney celebrated 100 years as a retailer. In 2003, the company opened three off-the-mall stores in strip centers. These stores were located in TexasTexas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, and Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
.
The new one-level, 94000 sq ft (8,732.9 m²) format stores focus on convenience with wider aisles and centralized checkouts. In 2004, the company added 14 more stores and exited the drug store division after 35 years, with the sale of its Eckerd division. In 2005, J. C. Penney's e-commerce storefront exceeded the one-billion dollar revenue mark for the first time.
2006–present
In 2007, J. C. Penney launched the Ambrielle lingerie label, and it became their largest private brand launched in J. C. Penney history. J. C. Penney also re-introduced cosmetics with the opening of SephoraSephora
Sephora is a chain of cosmetics stores founded in France in 1970 and acquired by Paris-based conglomerate LVMH in 1997. The Sephora chain includes more than 750 stores in 17 countries...
"stores-within-a-store" inside some J. C. Penney locations. Beginning in 2007 the store slogan changed from "It's All Inside" to "Every Day Matters"; the new slogan and associated ad campaign was launched in television commercials during the 79th Academy Awards
79th Academy Awards
The 79th Academy Awards ceremony , honored the best films of 2006 and took place on February 25, 2007 at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood on ABC. Ellen DeGeneres hosted the ceremony for the first time. The producer was Laura Ziskin. The announcers were Don LaFontaine and Gina Tuttle.The nominees were...
in late February 2007.
After J. C. Penney sold off Eckerd
Eckerd
Eckerd Corporation was an American drug store chain that was headquartered in Largo, Florida, and toward the end of its life, in Warwick, Rhode Island....
in 2004, the locations that continued to operate as Eckerd (some locations in the Southern U.S. were sold to CVS Corporation
CVS Corporation
CVS Pharmacy, or simply CVS, is the second largest pharmacy chain in the United States , with over 7,000 stores in 41 states and Puerto Rico...
) still had JCPenney Catalog Centers inside the stores (which was a carryover from locations that were once Thrift Drug
Thrift Drug
Thrift Drug was a pharmacy chain based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that was founded in 1937 and purchased by J.C. Penney in 1968, and was expanded greatly thereafter. The chain served as the flagship chain of J.C. Penney's pharmacy group. The chain didn't hide its affiliation with J.C. Penney, as...
) and also continued to accept JCPenney credit cards. After Rite Aid
Rite Aid
Rite Aid is a drugstore chain in the United States and a Fortune 500 company headquartered in East Pennsboro Township, Pennsylvania, near Camp Hill. Rite Aid is the largest drugstore chain on the East Coast and the third largest drugstore chain in the U.S....
finalized its acquisition of Eckerd in 2007, the Catalog Centers inside the soon-to-be-converted Eckerd stores permanently closed, although as a result of the acquisition, Rite Aid now accepts JCPenney credit cards, even at Rite Aid locations that existed before the takeover of Eckerd.
In November 2007, the company launched a new public website, JCPenneyBrands.com, which covers the company's private and exclusive brands, and their branding strategy, with a preview of an upcoming product line. In February 2008, the company launched the "American Living" brand, as developed by Ralph Lauren
Ralph Lauren
Ralph Lauren is an American fashion designer and business executive; best known for his Polo Ralph Lauren clothing brand.-Early life:...
, across several product lines, including Men's, Women's, and Children's Apparel and Shoes, Intimate Apparel, and Home. The launch, which was accompanied by an ad campaign during the 2008 Academy Awards, was the company's largest private brand launch. American Living for infant apparel was launched in July 2008. In the summer of 2008, J. C. Penney also added a new brand to its home collection, "Linden Street." The Linden Street brand features a contemporary lifestyle collection of furniture, domestics, and home decor. Linden Street is sold exclusively in JCPenney stores and through their website. Other new exclusive brands for junior's and young men's were launched in the summer of 2008, including Le Tigre, Decree, and Fabulosity, a junior line of clothing by Kimora Lee Simmons.
In June 2008, an ad called "Speed Dressing" emerged ending with the JCPenney logo and slogan "Every Day Matters". The ad won a prize at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival
Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival
The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is a global event for those working in advertising and related fields. The seven-day festival, incorporating the awarding of the Lions awards, is held yearly at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès in Cannes, France...
. The ad was criticized for seeming to promote teen sex. J. C. Penney denied that the ad was theirs and their advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi
Saatchi & Saatchi
Saatchi & Saatchi is a global advertising agency network with 140 offices in 80 countries and over 6,500 staff. It was founded in London in 1970 but now headquartered in New York. The parent company of the agency group was known as Saatchi & Saatchi PLC from 1976 to 1994, was listed on the London...
reported that it had been created by a third party vendor. It was entered in the competition by Epoch Films, who declined to comment.
Marketing expert John Tantillo
John Tantillo
John Tantillo is an American branding and marketing consultant. He is credited with coining the term The O'Reilly Factor, which later became the title of Bill O'Reilly’s television show.A graduate of St...
advised that the company distance itself from the commercial and also shed the publicity it engendered.
In July 2009, new additions were made to the J. C. Penney young men's department, including an expansion of their private brand Decree (previously exclusively a juniors clothing line) and the introduction of more skate/surf-oriented clothing, including Rusty, RS by Ryan Sheckler, and 3rd Rail. In August 2009, Albert Gonzalez
Albert Gonzalez
Albert Gonzalez is a computer hacker and computer criminal who is accused of masterminding the combined credit card theft and subsequent reselling of more than 170 million card and ATM numbers from 2005 through 2007—the biggest such fraud in history.Gonzalez and his accomplices used SQL injection...
's defense lawyer announced that J. C. Penney was a victim of the computer hacker
Hacker (computer security)
In computer security and everyday language, a hacker is someone who breaks into computers and computer networks. Hackers may be motivated by a multitude of reasons, including profit, protest, or because of the challenge...
, although J. C. Penney stated that no customers' credit card information had been stolen. In September 2010, J. C. Penney had joined Facebook to help promote their "Care, Share, Win" campaign. Since 1999, J. C. Penney has donated $100 million to after school care. Fans of J. C. Penney on Facebook can help decide which school will receive the next million dollars.
In 2009, J.C. Penney reached an agreement with Seattle's Best Coffee
Seattle's Best Coffee
Seattle's Best Coffee, a wholly owned subsidiary of Starbucks, is a specialty coffee retailer and wholesaler based in Seattle, Washington.Seattle's Best Coffee has retail stores and grocery sub-stores in 20 states and provinces and the District of Columbia. Sub-stores can also be found within many...
to feature full-service cafes within leased departments inside J.C. Penney stores across the country. Currently, Seattle's Best Coffee are still expanding cafe locations within J.C. Penney locations across the country.
On January 24, 2011, J.C. Penney announced it will exit the catalog business and close all 19 of its catalog outlet stores. An additional seven stores, two call center facilities, and one customer decorating facility will also be closed.
In June 2011, J. C. Penney announced that Ron Johnson will become the company's new CEO.
In October 2011, J.C. Penney sold the 15 remaining catalog outlet stores to SB Capital Group. These stores will remain open then transition to JC's 5 Star Outlets.
Controversy
On February 12, 2011, The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
exposed the use of link schemes, i.e., spamdexing
Spamdexing
In computing, spamdexing is the deliberate manipulation of search engine indexes...
, successfully to promote the J. C. Penney web site in Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
search results for many months, especially during the holiday season. Doug Pierce, an expert in online search, described the optimization as "the most ambitious attempt to game Google's search results that he has ever seen." Ultimately, Google took retaliatory action and drastically reduced the visibility of J. C. Penney in searches. Although the retailer denied any involvement, it fired its search engine consulting firm, SearchDex.
See also
- J. C. Penney Building (Newberg, Oregon)
- J. C. Penney-Chicago StoreJ. C. Penney-Chicago StoreThe J. C. Penney-Chicago Store is a historic department store building in downtown Tucson, Arizona.-References:**...
- J. C. Penney Co. Warehouse Building (St. Louis, Missouri)
- J. C. Penney Company Building (Shoshone, Idaho)
- J. C. Penney Historic DistrictJ. C. Penney Historic DistrictJ. C. Penney Historic District is a historic district in Kemmerer, Wyoming encompassing several properties associated with James Cash Penney. The district includes the Golden Rule Store, the first in what became the J. C...