[84] The company ranked 235 on the Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by revenue. In 1962, J. C. Penney entered discount merchandising with the acquisition of General Merchandise Company which gave them The Treasury stores. Privacy Policy. We see them around but we don't know what goes on behind the scenes. On February 12, 1971, James Cash Penney died at the age of 95; the company's stores were closed the morning of his funeral on February 16. - Eliminated Penneys catalog. Listen to this article 2 min. Callahan soon promoted young Penney to his Evanston, Wyoming, store to work with one of his partners, Guy Johnson. The company began accepting American Express cards as well as Visa, MasterCard, and JCPenney credit cards, and the bank was issuing its own Visas and MasterCards. 1976-85: Mass Merchandiser or Department Store? [91] On May 21, J. C. Penney announced that Shawn Gensch will be the Chief Customer Officer to take effect on June 3. New to his team is Sharmeelee . In 1956, J. C. Penney started national advertising with a series of advertisements in Life magazine. New York CNN Business . [79], In an effort to capitalize on self-deprecating humor and improve its reputation, J. C. Penney collaborated with Nicole Richie and other designers to open a "Jacques Penne" pop-up shop in Manhattan during the 2017 holiday season. Penney put in three years as a salesman, and Callahan and Johnson decided to make him a manager and partner. Treasury Drug stores became Eckerd which JCPenney also owned. 1996: Penney acquires the Eckerd Drug Corporation. In 1914, the headquarters was moved to New York City to simplify buying, financing, and transportation of goods. The company discontinues its Treasury discount store brand. The company joins with Goodyear and plans auto centers to be located next to future stores. The company discontinues its major appliances department after only 3 years. [66] On December 1, 2013, J. C. Penney was replaced by Allegion in the S&P 500 Index. 1990: The company slogan becomes Where Fashion Comes to Life. A study shows that 70% of JCPenneys customers are female. [39] That summer, J.C.Penney also added a new brand to its home collection, "Linden Street." Fay's, most Kerr, and Thrift drug stores were re-branded Eckerd in 1997. On July 31, JCPenney opens a Manhattan store located in the former Gimbels building on 33rd Street. Although Bloomingdale's has had restaurants in their stores for decades and upstart Nordstrom had coffee bars, was the concept still new enough to attract more customers to JCPenney? JCPenney CEO Marc Rosen at the retailer's Stonebriar Centre location in Frisco, Texas. The company continued to open stores at a fast clip. 1983: The company introduces the Halston III line of fashion merchandise, the first collaboration between a high-end designer and a mass merchandiser. JCPenney Home Stores stores that sold linens & home decor. [75] The land has since been broken up and sold/developed. SAN BRUNO, CALIFORNIA - MAY 15: The parking lot in, front of a JCPenney store at The Shops at Tanforan Mall on May 15, 2020 in San Bruno, California. In 1907 Callahan and Johnson dissolved their partnership, and Penney bought them out, taking over three stores. For its founder, see, Acquisitions and international expansion: 1990s, Locations listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Previous pricing policies and merchandise offerings are slowly reinstated. Penney establishes a line of large discount department stores named Treasure Island in the Upper Midwest. A Strategic Mistake that Haunts JC Penney. [21], JCPenney reached its peak number of stores in 1973, with 2,053 stores, 300 of which were full-line establishments. Sales were down 28.4% from a year earlier and same store sales were down 32%. 1980: Inflation and high interest rates severely impact JCPenneys earnings. Donald Seibert was elected fifth chairman of the board and CEO in 1974, the same year a third catalog distribution center was opened in Columbus, Ohio. [26] After several years of development, the JCPenney Television Shopping Channel appeared on cable systems beginning in 1989. a former C.E.O. [21], In 1977, J.C.Penney sold its four stores in Italy to Italian department store chain La Rinascente, Penneys had opened in Italy in 1970 but left due to diffucilutes encountered when trying to expand in Italy and had only ever opened stores in the Lombardy region. JCPenney's stock plunged from a high of $51 a share to $17. [41], On January 24, 2011, J. C. Penney closed down its catalog business which had been operating 1963, with this the 19 catalog outlet stores also closed down. 1998: JCPenney joins the internet shopping era with jcpenney.com. Thrift Drug, the 10th largest drugstore chain in the nation with 645 stores in 12 states, had sales of nearly $1.9 billion in '95 (a 20.2 percent increase) and plans for new outlets in North Carolina and New Jersey. I write about department stores; past and present. [88], On February 6, 2019, J. C. Penney said it would stop selling major appliances on February 28, and that furniture would be limited to online and stores in Puerto Rico. Oct 26, 2021. Updated. In the 1980s JCPenney's also stopped selling outdoor equipment and hardware such as lawn mowers and tools. The company closed the Treasury discount stores in 1980 because they were unprofitable and decided to focus resources on its JCPenney stores. In 1979, JCPenney stores started accepting Visa cards. Everything these days seems all up in the air. Stanley Shashoua, Simon's chief investment officer, has been appointed as executive chairman of the Board of Directors after serving as interim CEO of JCPenney since January. On May 22, J. C. Penney announced the resignation of their CEO, Marvin Ellison. of Sears Canada, who is now a professor at Columbia, said. With the $14 million remodeling of its key store in Atlanta, JCPenney rolled out the prototype of its latest store design. JCPenney now operates 354 full-line department stores, 1,289 soft goods stores, 31 Treasury discount stores, and 255 drug stores. Financial issues, including massive debt, continue to hang dark clouds over the firm. By June 17, J. C. Penney reopened approximately 827 stores; most of the 154 scheduled for permanent closure in 2020 were among those reopened, with final closing sales in progress. In 2005, J. C. Penney's e-commerce storefront exceeded the one billion dollar revenue mark for the first time. (Reuters) - J.C. Penney Co Inc JCP.N late last year tapped Jill Soltau as chief executive officer to stem the decline in sales, the fifth leadership change at the department store operator in 15 years. [101] On December 17, 2020, JCPenney announced that they would close 15 additional stores in March 2021. "[66] Ullman is removing the radio frequency identification technology and returning to security tags because shrinkage has "added 100 basis points on margins in the third quarter". On May 1, J. C. Penney announced a limited number of stores would reopen. [45], In October 2011, J. C. Penney sold the 15 remaining catalog outlet stores to SB Capital Group, the stores were then converted into JC's 5 Star Outlets. Executive Summary. In 1969, the company acquired Thrift Drug, a chain of drugstores headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. April 14, 1902: James Cash Penney, along with two partners, opens the 25-foot by 40-foot Golden Rule Store in the mining town of Kemmerer, Wyoming. By the opening of the 1,000th store in 1928, gross business had reached $190million (equivalent to $3billion in 2023). Shashoua, who also serves as chief investment officer of . 2016: JCPenney reports $4.8 billion of long-term highly leveraged debt. Able to take advantage of the fact that disposable income in the U.S. was rising faster than inflation, JCPenney reached its highest number of stores in 1973, with 2,053 stores, 300 of which were full-line establishments. The space that became available was then used for women's apparel. The line, named Halston III, would not last long, as it would be poorly received and discontinued after about a year. 2019: Jill Soltau, named CEO in October 2018, helps develop a new concept store for JCPenney. The next year, it mailed its first JCPenney catalog. Penneys enters the Belgium market and purchases a sizable interest in the retailer, Sarma, S.A. The company opens a trial store in Santiago, Chile. [30] In 1998, JCPenney launched its Internet store.[31]. Three top executives, including the chief financial officer Bill Wafford, chief merchant. Part of this land was sold to where the current Toyota North America HQ is now located. Stanley Shashoua, Simon's chief investment In 1995 the chain expanded to Chile with a store in the capital, Santiago. The company dedicated its first full-line shopping-center department store in 1961. [52] In June, Michael Francis (company president) left J. C. Penney after only eight months as president. The company lowered its earnings forecast for the year to 13 cents per share at best, and said it could lose as much as 7 cents. To continue expanding the credit policies of the company, JCPenney began accepting Visa in 1979; MasterCard was accepted the next year. Internet sales amount to $15 million for the inaugural year. [44], In June 2011, Ron Johnson who had previously led Apple retail stores in a period go high growth, became J. C. Penney's new CEO. Thrift Drug celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1985; JCPenney's total year-end sales hit $13.6 billion. The 25th anniversary was celebrated in 1927, and founder James Cash Penney declared that the company had a good shot at achieving sales of $1 billion by its 50th anniversary in 1952. 1922: Penney operates 371 stores with annual sales of $49 million. Earnings rebounded as a result, rising from $4.11 per share in 1987 to $5.92 in 1988 from total sales of $14.8 billion. This gave the company the cost-saving advantages of being centralized, but also allowed it to be sensitive to fashion and seasonal preferences in local markets. The company reports an accumulated $3.7 deft load on February 1. 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. On March 31, J. C. Penney announced an extension of the planned April 2 reopening, with a new date not possible to be determined at the time. J.C. Penney, in full James Cash Penney, (born Sept. 16, 1875, Hamilton, Mo., U.S.died Feb. 12, 1971, New York, N.Y.), merchant who established one of the largest chains of department stores in the United States. [34] In 2003, the company opened three stores in strip centers in Texas, Minnesota and Indiana. He implemented the principles of his former partners and expanded the chain throughout the Rocky Mountains by allowing his store managers to buy a one-third partnership in new stores, provided they had a trained salesperson to take their place as manager at the old store. 1982: JCPenney eliminates several departments such as major appliances, paint, hardware, lawn and garden merchandise, and fabrics. Age: Dec. at 95 (1875-1971) Joanne L Bober Ken C. Hicks Ken C. Hicks is the CEO of Foot Locker. By then, sales had grown to $10.8 billion, the women's fashion program was introduced in new markets, and a home furnishings line was added. [87] On December 26, the stock price of J. C. Penney (NYSE: JCP) fell below $1 per share. J.C. Penney Company, Inc. views 3,475,015 updated May 21 2018 J.C. Penney Company, Inc. 6501 Legacy Drive Piano, Texas 75024-3698 U.S.A. Telephone: (972) 431-1000 Toll Free: (800) 953-9421 Fax: (972) 431-1362 Web sites: http://www.jcpenney.net ; http://www.jcpenney.com Public Company Incorporated: 1913 Employees: 267,000 In April 2022, JCPenney's ownersSimon and Brookfield offered $8.6 billion to purchase Kohl's. He did not respond to a request for comment from NPR. [35] In 2004, the company added 14 more stores and exited the drug store division after 35 years, with the sale of its Eckerd division. [124][125] He called it "The Golden Rule" to symbolize his belief that the Golden Rule should apply to business life as well as to personal life. [43], On February 12, 2011, The New York Times exposed the company's use of link schemes"spamdexing"to increase the J. C. Penney website's ranking in Google search results, especially during the holiday season. Here's a map of where they are", "Bankrupt JCPenney Is Closing its Manhattan Mall and Kings Plaza Locations in NYC", "J.C. Penney closing more stores after exiting bankruptcy. The company struggled through the 1970s, as upstart companies like Wal-Mart began selling goods at discount prices and long-time rivals like Sears gave JCPenney tough competition in the hardware and appliance departments. JCPenney eventually loses the court battle. [98], On March 18, J. C. Penney announced all retail stores would temporarily close in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic until April 2. Materials and merchandise were scarce, yet the company increased its sales to $500 million in 1945. With the acquisition of the bank, the company became able to issue its own Mastercard and Visa Inc. cards. The company also planned to offer buyouts to roughly 6,000 employees. In October, it was announced that the company would be tapping former Home Depot executive Marvin Ellison to take on the role of CEO starting in November. [99], On May 15, 2020, J. C. Penney filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and announced that there would be an additional 242 store closings, blaming the COVID-19 pandemic for its action. [59] In August, William A. Ackman, of Pershing Square Capital Management, continued his efforts to remove Thomas Engibous, the company's chairman of the board of directors. To the relief of shareholders and management alike, JCPenney rebounded in 1992 while celebrating its 90th anniversary. In addition, low-margin goods were preventing the company from making its profit potential. In July 2009, new additions were made to the J. C. Penney young men's department, including an expansion of its 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. See the list", "JCPenney Store Closings Penney IP, LLC", "J.C. Penney sale to landlords Simon and Brookfield is completed", "J.C. Penney store closings list released: Is your local store facing liquidation in bankruptcy? 1974: In addition to shopping mall expansions, JCPenney establishes a plan to build smaller retail stores in less urban areas. - The pioneer of Apple Inc retail outlets launched expensive renovations of Penney stores and eliminated coupons. JCPenney CEO Jill Soltau speaks during an interview in Fort Worth, Texas, in 2019. 1963: On August 15, Penneys opens its first full-line department store, located at the King of Prussia Plaza in suburban Philadelphia. [61][62] On September 26, 2013, J. C. Penney, with Goldman Sachs as the sole underwriter, announced plans to issue 84 million shares of its stock. A hip redesign of the Plain Pockets line, Arizona quickly eclipsed JCPenney's expectations, prompting a slew of additional designs in different sizes and colors. JCPenney locations that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP): This article is about the department store chain. [100] On July 7, 2020, J. C. Penney announced that they would close two stores in New York City; one at the Manhattan Mall, which was closed immediately and the Kings Plaza store in Brooklyn, which closed on Sunday, September 27, 2020. Earlier in 2018, the company announced it would cut 360 jobs at its stores and corporate headquarters. 2017: In order to pay off part of its debt load, JCPenney sells its Plano, Texas headquarters campus for $353 million. JCPenney created the Treasury discount stores from the General Merchandise discount operation. Armed with a track record of success as the architect of Apple's retail stores alongside Steve Jobs, Johnson loaded up J.C.. Eckerd operates 2,699 stores in 23 states. The stores were closed due to low profitably and high expenses. [68], On January 15, 2014, J. C. Penney announced it was closing 33 under-performing stores and laying off 2,000 employees. [80][81], In 2018, J. C. Penney closed permanently at Plaza Palma Real in Humacao, Puerto Rico, after Hurricane Maria devastated the store in September 2017. In 2007, J. C. Penney launched the Ambrielle lingerie label, which became its largest private brand launched in the company's history. Here are 7 other high-profile departures in recent years. JCPenney CEO and Executives. Here are further demographic highlights of the leadership team: The JCPenney executive team is 33% female and 67% male. Reuters reported last month that the 117-year-old department store operator hired advisers to explore debt restructuring options that would buy more time for the money-losing U.S. retailer to forge a turnaround. The company--now with 1,602 stores--opened a store in Hampton Village, Missouri, in 1949 in a "drive-in shopping district," a precursor to suburban malls. The company has been an Internet retailer since 1998, and it has streamlined its catalog and distribution while undergoing renovation improvements at store level. They included a relaunch of Le Tigre, along with Decree, and Fabulosity, a junior line of clothing by Kimora Lee Simmons. Coupled with a "contemporary and fashion-forward environment," sales rose substantially in 1992 and 1993, due to a revitalized Worthington career collection and the debut and ongoing success of new bath and body products. 2004: The company sells its Eckerd Drug division and retires $1.7 billion in long-term debt. The entrance to Little Rock's University Mall. Before this point, JCPenney carried rifles and shotguns branded as JCPenney but produced by numerous established firearms manufacturers. J. C. Penney finished the quarter with just $181million in cash, down from $363million a year ago. All of the outlet stores were closed by 2011. Penney became chairman of the board in 1917, when the company had 175 stores, and Earl Sams became president. The 5 Big Mistakes That Led to Ron Johnson's Ouster at JC Penney. The move was considered controversial then as no other high-end designer up to that point in time had licensed their designs to a mid-price retailer. In November 2007, the company launched a new public website, JCPenneyBrands.com, which covers the company's private and exclusive brands and its branding strategy, as well as a preview of an upcoming product line. A business should not have to be judged by its bankruptcy, especially when that business is JCPenney. JCPenney has a new CEO. The jcpenney.com website becomes the largest online retailer of apparel and home furnishings. While the company was riding high on these achievements, the recession that began in 1974 took its toll. [18] The Honolulu store was located at Ala Moana Center, and closed in 2003, along with all remaining locations in the state, making Hawaii the only U.S. state to not currently have a JCPenney store. Other big retailers started in mail-order and then launched into retail stores. Although she didn't mastermind the Dallas-based retailer's remarkable. With its new stance as a national department store focusing on apparel, the company had benefitted from its prime regional shopping center space, the most such space of all U.S. retailers. 1971: Founder James Cash Penney passes away at age 95. JCPenney has 60,000 employees, of which 24 are in a leadership position. A fourth catalog distribution center, in Lenexa, Kansas, was added in 1978. - Ullman said sales and market value results spoke for themselves. [13] In 1899, Callahan sent Penney to Evanston, Wyoming, to work with Johnson in another Golden Rule store. [46], On December 7, 2011, J. C. Penney purchased 16.6% of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia stock. Those stores expanded the lines of merchandise and services that an average J. C. Penney carried to include appliances, sporting goods, tools, garden\lawn merchandise, restaurants, beauty salons, portrait studios, auto parts, and auto centers. Photo: Metaweb (FB) Ken Skistimas Age: 47 Michael T Theilmann Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. This store was located at Black Horse Pike Center in Audubon, New Jersey. In January 2016, J. C. Penney announced plans to relaunch its business of selling major appliances to target a wave of millennials who are buying first-time homes. - After sales fell 25%, Johnson conceded that his plan to abandon coupons and sales events was a mistake. In 1986 JCPenney acquired Units, a chain of stores selling contemporary knitwear and by the next year the company was well on its way to achieving the goals it set forth in 1982. [63][64], During the spring of 2013, a kettle sold by the company attracted controversy when many users of social media pointed out its resemblance to Adolf Hitler, with the kettle being dubbed the Hitler teapot. Customers liked them because of controlled quality and cheaper prices than brand names; Penney liked them because he could control the price and make a higher profit margin. In the 1960s, JCPenney expanded to include Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. This lost decade signals that . The company's first order of business was to expand the fashion programs in men's, women's and children's departments, and the company divided its stores into two categories, metropolitan (based in regional shopping centers) and geographic (based in smaller communities). Apr 25, 2023. 1927: Penneys celebrates its 25th anniversary. Its big mass merchant competitors, Montgomery Ward and Sears, continued in these lines. Returned as CEO in 2013 after J.C. Penney suffered a tumultuous two years under replacement Ron Johnson. After Rite Aid finalized its acquisition of Eckerd in 2007, the Catalog Centers inside the soon-to-be-converted stores permanently closed. For the first time in our nation's history, Executive Order 12898 recognized and sought to address what community members and leaders had been saying for decades: harmful pollution . Investors believed low-margin items like appliances were squeezing profits, and that discount and self-service home-center stores were doing a better job than JCPenney in the hardware business. It also reorganized its executive structure around the office of the chairman. Dylan Hollingsworth/Bloomberg/Getty Images. Returned as CEO in 2013 after J.C. Penney suffered a tumultuous two years under replacement Ron Johnson. [114] On July 31, 2020, it was announced that 21 stores, including the "Mother Store" in Kemmerer, Wyoming, would be auctioned off as part of the proceedings. Kramer consequently laid off 1,600 employees to change the company's workplace culture. In 1983 Howell, who most recently held a vice chairmanship (along with David R. Gill, who'd started with the company back in 1953), was elected the sixth chairman of the board, and David Miller was named president. They were prototypes for the JCPenney stores of the next two decades. [16][17] The company rebuilt the store as a shorter building on a larger footprint and followed up by building Anchorage's first public parking garage, which opened in 1968. The Penney Building in Anchorage partially collapsed and was damaged beyond repair in the 1964 Alaska earthquake. The new slogan and associated ad campaign was launched in television commercials during the 79th Academy Awards in late February 2007. 2013. Principal Operating Units: JCPenney Stores; JCPenney Catalog; Thrift Drug; JCPenney Insurance; JCPenney National Bank. That same year, fashion designer Roy Halston, signed a six-year, $1billion deal with JCPenney to sell a line of affordable clothing, accessories, cosmetics, and perfumes ranging in price from $24 to $200. Annual sales reach $14.8 billion. The company adopts the JCPenney moniker in its advertising. The Hurst, Texas store, near the Plano headquarters, is outfitted with a fitness studio, childrens play areas, and other amenities. J. C. Penney replaced Aropostale from the S&P MidCap 400 Index. Between 1995 and 1998, JCPenney entered Indonesia under partnership with Lippo Group (under their Multipolar investment arm) with the branding JCPenney Collections, also used by multiple international JCPenney branches across Asia during the decade. Allen Questron served as Chairman and CEO of Federated Department Stores from 1990 to 1997. On December 30, 2020, it was announced that Jill Soltau would step down as CEO of JCPenney, effective December 31, 2020. With 846 stores and 85,000 employees, the department store plans hundreds of permanent store closures as a means to reduce debt and avoid liquidation. - In 2018, Ellison left Penney to join home improvement chain Lowe's Cos Inc. The advent and strong growth of the specialty apparel store also meant tough competition for JCPenney. JCPenney was different from many of its competitors with its late entry into the catalog mail-order business. Web. Since taking the reins as CEO and chairman of JC Penney last November, former Levi Strauss & Co. and Walmart exec Marc Rosen has been busy building out his C-Suite. The launch, which was accompanied by an ad campaign during the 80th Academy Awards, was the company's largest private brand launch. 2020: JCPenney stock falls below $1 a share, putting it at risk of being delisted from the New York Stock Exchange. Although the retailer denied any involvement, it fired its search engine consulting firm, SearchDex. [115], On September 9, 2020, Brookfield Property Partners and Simon Property Group agreed to purchase JCPenney for about $800million, including $300million in cash and assuming $500million of debt,[116] which was later approved by the court on November 10, 2020. [51], In April 2012, nearly 13% home office staff in Dallas were laid off and a call centre in Pittsburgh was closed down. Foundry Supply Co. (discontinued solo stores, brand moved to JCPenney stores), men's Big & Tall apparel, superseded by SJB and Arizona. his first store (left) with the new Hammond, Indiana, store. ", "J C Penney Financial Statements 2005-2018 | JCP | MacroTrends", "Teen Sex Ad Not Actually From JC Penney", "The Marketing Doctor Says: J. C. Penney Must Seize This Great Marketing Opportunity", "Why Has JCPenney Been Restoring Its Private Brands? The company issued its first JCPenney card and instituted other changes as a result of the study, including the introduction of major appliances, home electronics, furniture, and sporting goods. For medical reasons he moved to Colorado in 1897 and was soon hired by local dry-goods . . The company's managers and executives, who had equity in individual stores they ran or oversaw, traded their ownership for a stake in the company as a whole. Google took retaliatory action and drastically reduced the visibility of J. C. Penney in the search results. )[29], On December 9, 1998, The New York Times reported JCPenney would acquire controlling interest of Lojas Renner for a little over $33 million, which increased the company's maneuvering ability with their already existing units in Chile, Mexico and Puerto Rico. He will assume the . Stores were opened in Anchorage and Fairbanks, Alaska in 1962, followed by Honolulu, Hawaii in 1966, and Puerto Rico in 1968. [55] That month, the company posted a second-quarter comparable-store loss of 22%, with internet sales dropping 33%. This was the first time shares fell below $1 ever in the 110-year history of the company, which started trading on the New York Stock Exchange in 1929. J. C. Penney planned to put "mini-Martha Stewart shops" in many of its stores in 2013, as well as create a website with Martha Stewart Living. By 1915 the company had 83 stores and the next year ventured east of the Mississippi River for the first time with stores in Wausau and Watertown, Wisconsin. [21] However, the company was hard hit by the 1974 recession with its stock price declining by two-thirds. Finally, we can read about how these great companies came about with Company Histories.. In 2010, Vornado Realty Trust took a 9.9 percent stake in Penney; it sold off its 9.9 Million share interest in the company for $13.00 per share in 2013. By 1912, Penney had 34 stores in the Rocky Mountain States. 41 on Fortune 's list of the country's 50 most powerful female executives. In the early 21st century the company operated more than 800 stores in the United States and Puerto Rico. Photograph by Nancy Newberry for Fortune JCPenney CEO Marc Rosen has no intention of adding to the. The ouster of Fox's top . JCPenney furniture outlet JCPenney outlet stores that only sold furniture & rugs. The continued hoopla over the brand's success had even prompted longtime rival Sears to jump into the proprietary denim fray with its own line, Canyon River Blues.