J.C. Penney's journey from 1 store to 1,100

November 17, 2012 RSS Feed Print

NEW YORK (AP) — A look at J.C. Penney's milestones:

—1902: James Cash Penney, son of a Baptist preacher and farmer, opens The Golden Rule, a dry goods and clothing store in Kemmerer, Wyoming. The name was based on his guiding principle of building a business through serving the community with fair dealing and honest value.

—1913: Incorporated in Utah as the J.C. Penney Co. Inc. and the Golden Rule name was phased out.

—1914: Headquarters moves from Salt Lake City, Utah, to New York City.

—1929: Begins selling shares as a publicly traded company.

—1951: Store sales exceed $1 billion for the first time.

—1963: Issues its first catalog.

—1971: James Cash Penney dies at age 95.

—1972: Launches first national television.

—1979: Catalog sales pass $1 billion for the first time.

—1992: Headquarters moves to Plano, Tex.

—1994: Launches jcpenney.com, its online store.

—2005: Penney's e-commerce business surpasses $1 billion in sales.

—2009: Opens its first store in Manhattan.

—2010: Becomes the exclusive retailer of Liz Claiborne and Claiborne in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Exits catalog business. Introduces mobile coupons.

—2011: Ron Johnson, a former Apple executive, becomes CEO.

—2012: Implements a new pricing strategy that eliminates hundreds of coupons and sales in favor of everyday lower prices. Begins rolling out new shops in stores to turn the stores into mini-malls of sorts.