JCPenney History

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The Company Description of Its Time

JCPenney files itself as one of America's leading retailers, operating throughout the United States and Puerto Rico - and the historical profile is built like the company it describes: large, systematic and aimed squarely at the middle of the country. The scale is stated three ways. More than 1,000 stores in the United States and Puerto Rico. One of the largest apparel and home furnishing sites on the Internet, at jcp.com. And the nation's largest general merchandise catalog business. Across that integrated enterprise, the filing says, JCPenney offers a wide array of national, private and exclusive brands reflecting a commitment to providing customers with style and quality at smart prices.

The Long-Range Plan: Four Strategies

The plan's four strategies, as the historical record states them, are Customers, Merchandise, Associates and Performance. Customers means developing an emotional connection that is strong and enduring - know the customer as the leader in understanding current and potential shoppers, communicate why JCPenney is their best shopping choice, and serve them with an easy, enjoyable and exciting shopping experience that meets or exceeds expectations every time. Merchandise means inspiring customers with the right products, at the right place, at the right time, in the right quantities and at the right price - the leading retailer, in the plan's words, in delivering style and quality at smart prices.

Associates means becoming the preferred choice for a retail career: building a WINNING TOGETHER culture - a meaningful, challenging and exciting place to work - and retaining, attracting and developing the best people in retail, reflecting the diversity of the customers. Performance means establishing JCPenney as the growth leader in the retail industry, optimising growth in the core business while balancing sales, productivity, profitability and return on investment, and executing new growth opportunities that leverage core strengths. The filing adds that the plan is led by a highly respected and experienced management team, and that its aim is industry-leading financial performance for shareholders alongside the deeper customer relationship.

A Brief History, as Recorded

The profile's own timeline runs from frontier retail to the internet. In 1902 James Cash Penney opened The Golden Rule, a dry goods and clothing store in Kemmerer, Wyoming. In 1913 several partners met in Salt Lake City to draft The Penney Idea, the business principles that would guide the company from then on, and the early decades built the private-brand strength the filing still emphasises - private brands such as the Big Mac work clothes line, with private brands eventually accounting for nearly 50 percent of the merchandise mix. Store sales exceeded $1 billion for the first time in 1951; the first catalog was issued in 1963; James Cash Penney died in 1971 at age 95, and the company closed for half a day as a memorial; national television advertising began in 1972, and catalog sales passed $1 billion in 1979.

The modern milestones follow in the filing's order. The online store launched at jcpenney.com in 1998. The JCPenney Afterschool Fund, supporting access to safe and enriching afterschool programs, was established in 2001, and Myron (Mike) Ullman III joined as the company's ninth chairman and chief executive officer in 2004. In 2005 jcp.com surpassed $1 billion in sales and the WINNING TOGETHER philosophy was established with its eight principles - associates, integrity, performance, recognition, teamwork, quality, innovation and community. The year 2006 brought the a.n.a private brand, noted as the shortest idea-to-selling-floor cycle time in company history, the JCPenney Experience branding campaign with its 15,000-square-foot virtual pop-up store in Times Square, and the partnership with SEPHORA. In 2007 the company launched its Every Day Matters brand positioning, announced the 2007-2011 Long Range Plan and opened 50 stores in one year; in 2008 it launched American Living, described as the largest brand launch in company history. The companion page in this letter records what happened to the company's identity next - the new logo unveiled in February 2011.

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