Though he had quietly been giving thousands of dollars to local churches and organizations, in 1923 he founded Penney Farms, a 120,000-acre experimental farming area in northern Florida for down-on-their-luck farmers. In 1909, Penney moved his company headquarters to Salt Lake City, Utah to be closer to banks and railroads. [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. For the past ten years JCPenney JCP 0.0% has cycled through four presidents and four different retail strategies all without much success or continuity. She is tasked with a turnaround bid against the backdrop of a deteriorating brick-and-mortar retail landscape that has forced Toys R Us Inc and Sears Holdings Corp to seek bankruptcy protection. Returned as CEO in 2013 after J.C. Penney suffered a tumultuous two years under replacement Ron Johnson. Allen Questron served as Chairman and CEO of Federated Department Stores from 1990 to 1997. 65% of the management team is White. In 1989 JCPenney was named the U.S.'s exclusive distributor for Olympic apparel, sold its JCPenney Casualty Insurance Company, and debuted the JCPenney Television Shopping Channel. JCPenney has 60,000 employees, of which 24 are in a leadership position. In pictures: The history of JCPenney | CNN JC Penney - CompaniesHistory.com The company also sells its auto center business. 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. [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. 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. Earlier in 2018, the company announced it would cut 360 jobs at its stores and corporate headquarters. 1907: James Cash Penney buys out his original partners and assumes sole control of the business. JCPenney CEO Marc Rosen Chief Executive Officer Phone Email See Profile Key Employees of JCPenney Stephanie Plaines Chief Financial Officer Phone Email John Aylward Chief Marketing Officer Phone Email Andre Joyner Senior VP & Chief Human Resources Officer Phone Email Sharmeelee Bala Senior VP & Chief Information Officer Phone Email James DePaul 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. Ron Johnson (businessman) - Wikipedia JCPenney CEO And Leadership: Executives and Demographics This post was updated on May 17, 2020 in order to reflect correct information posted within the 1962-1963 headings. 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. the locations that continued to operate as Eckerd, Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival, J. C. Penney-Chicago Store (Tucson, Arizona), J. C. Penney Company Building (Shoshone, Idaho), J. C. Penney Co. JCPenney's stock plunged from a high of $51 a share to $17. With these officers in place, the company launched a massive reorganization to transform the company from a mass merchant into a national department store. 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 J. C. Penney Catalog Centers inside the stores (which was a carryover from locations that were once Thrift Drug) and also continued to accept J. C. Penney credit cards. After Sears closed its catalog business in 1993, J. C. Penney became the last catalog retailer in the United States. [38] J.C.Penney also re-introduced cosmetics with the opening of Sephora "stores-within-a-store" inside some J.C.Penney locations. With the acquisition of the bank, the company became able to issue its own Mastercard and Visa Inc. cards. He will assume the . [73][74], In January 2017, J. C. Penney sold its headquarters campus and surrounding land in Plano, Texas to Dreien Opportunity Partners as a leaseback sale to maintain operations at the location. 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. [49][50] Prices would also not end in 9 or 7 and would instead use whole figures to price items. JCPenney appoints Katie Mullen chief customer officer To the relief of shareholders and management alike, JCPenney rebounded in 1992 while celebrating its 90th anniversary. After graduating from high school, Penney worked for a local retailer. [85][86] She has also brought new talent and has cleaned out inventory. JCPenney officially closes all stores on April 1 and furloughs many of its employees. JC's 5 star outlet was a "lower rank" outlet store. (Photo by Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images). The company also launched a massive leveraged employee stock ownership plan (LESOP) in 1988. JCPenney Home Stores stores that sold linens & home decor. In 1956, J. C. Penney started national advertising with a series of advertisements in Life magazine. 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. [30] In 1998, JCPenney launched its Internet store.[31]. Ron Johnson's tenure as CEO of J.C. Penney was arguably the biggest retail disaster in history. The company closed the Treasury discount stores in 1980 because they were unprofitable and decided to focus resources on its JCPenney stores. In addition, low-margin goods were preventing the company from making its profit potential. The former CEO and chairman at JCPenney, Myron E. 'Mike' Ullman III, came in at sixth place. (Kerr Drug stores in The Carolinas remained branded as such because they were part of a group of stores that were divested because of trade competition issues raised during the merger. The company's five regional operations were narrowed to four in 1988 to make communication between merchandising divisions and stores easier. At the same time, Batten became the company's fourth chairman and beauty salons, portrait studios, food facilities, and auto service centers were added to full-line stores. Just a few months into serving as interim CEO of J.C. Penney, Stanley Shashoua said he sees signs of growth in the business. Though the company has been struggling for the past several years, JCPenney cites COVID-19 as a large reason for Fridays bankruptcy filing. JCPenney Company Profile | Management and Employees List - Datanyze 1983: The company introduces the Halston III line of fashion merchandise, the first collaboration between a high-end designer and a mass merchandiser.