Do you think J. C. Penney’s parents had any idea how prophetic their name was for their son, James Cash Penney? It appears to be a family name passed from father to son, as the retailing entrepreneur was J. C. Penney II who in turn gave the name to his own son, J. C. Penney III. How appropriate Cash was the middle name of this industrious businessman of the early twentieth century.
In Marcello’s Promise when Luisa plans to shop at the Golden Rule Store in Kemmerer, she was in fact going to what would later become the first J. C. Penney store in the country. Penney joined a partnership of Golden Rule dry goods stores in Colorado and Wyoming and in 1902 opened his own one-room store in Kemmerer, Wyoming.
Kemmerer’s main street was lined with saloons, a stark contrast to Penney’s Baptist upbringing; his father doubled as a preacher and a farmer. Penney, his wife and infant son lived in the attic above the store. The store’s high-quality merchandise at reasonable prices caught the attention of the mining and farming families who populated the area. Penney accepted cash only for his goods, rather than credit, even though the bank assured him a cash and carry business would not be successful. The opening day sales totaled $446.59, and the first year totaled an astonishing $28,898.11. It wasn’t long before he was competing with the company owned stores in the mining camps for the miners’ business.
The customers liked Penney’s merchandise, his honest business practices and good service. Soon he was managing more stores and in 1907 the other two owners sold their shares of the chain to Penney. With a company motto of “Honor, Confidence, Service, and Cooperation,” the J. C. Penney Company flourished. As new stores appeared across the country, Penney said his goal was not to have a chain of stores but to have a chain of good associates. The company reached its peak number of stores in 1973 with over 2000.
I visited Penney’s hometown of Hamilton, Missouri, off Highway 36 in the northwest part of the state. The J.C. Penney Museum is housed in the local library and contains a collection of books, documents, photos, memorabilia, and a life-size replica of Penney who greets you near the entrance. Even as the Penney store is rebranding itself today in a competitive online market, I found the story of James Cash Penney from farm boy to retailing giant compelling. The Golden Rule set the standard by which the company has operated for over a century—to treat others as we would like to be treated.
Penney’s hometown is on the map for another reason today. Hamilton is home of the Missouri Star Quilt Company and draws 8000 tourists a month from across the country. The company, founded by a newly arrived family in 2008, owns twelve beautifully appointed quilting supply stores on Hamilton’s Main Street and two retreat centers that offer specialized quilting classes. There’s even a storefront, Man’s Land, where men enjoy leather recliners, a pool table, and flat screened televisions. Penney would be proud of the entrepreneurial spirit that has turned his one stop-light hometown of 1,900 into the Disneyland of Quilting.
Thanks for an interesting look at J.C. Penney.