Jcpenney

JCPenney, American department store chain with 656 stores, focusing on lifestyle products for middle-class households

JCPenney Founded

1902

James Cash Penney founded JCPenney as a group of dry goods stores he managed as part of the Golden Rule chain.

Penney Purchases Full Interest in Golden Rule Stores

1907

Callahan and Johnson dissolved their partnership, leading Penney to purchase full interest in all three store locations.

J. C. Penney Company Incorporated

1913

J. C. Penney Company was incorporated with William Henry McManus as a co-founder.

Headquarters Moved to New York City

1914

To improve buying, financing, and transportation of goods, J. C. Penney moved its headquarters to New York City.

J. C. Penney Acquires The Crescent Corset Company

1920

J. C. Penney acquired The Crescent Corset Company, marking the company's first wholly owned subsidiary.

Big Mac Work Clothes Launched

1922

Big Mac work clothes, the company's oldest active private brand, was launched.

500th Store Opens in Hamilton, Missouri

1924

J. C. Penney opened its 500th store in Hamilton, Missouri, the hometown of James Cash Penney.

1,000th Store Opens

1928

J. C. Penney opened its 1,000th store, reaching $190 million in gross business.

Sam Walton Begins Working at J. C. Penney

1940

Sam Walton began his retail career at a J. C. Penney store in Des Moines, Iowa.

J. C. Penney Starts National Advertising

1956

J. C. Penney started national advertising with a series of advertisements in Life magazine.

J. C. Penney Credit Cards First Issued

1959

J. C. Penney first issued its own credit cards.

First Full-Line Department Store Opens

1961

J. C. Penney dedicated its first full-line shopping-center department store at Black Horse Pike Center.

J. C. Penney Acquires General Merchandise Company

1962

J. C. Penney entered discount merchandising with the acquisition of General Merchandise Company, which gave them The Treasury stores.

JCPenney Expands to Alaska

1962

J. C. Penney opened stores in Anchorage and Fairbanks, Alaska.

First Catalog Issued

1963

J. C. Penney issued its first catalog and operated in-store catalog desks in eight states.

JCPenney Expands to Hawaii

1966

JCPenney opened a store in Honolulu, Hawaii.

JCPenney Expands to Puerto Rico

1968

JCPenney opened a store in Puerto Rico.

J. C. Penney Acquires Thrift Drug

1969

J. C. Penney acquired Thrift Drug, a chain of drugstores headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

J. C. Penney Acquires Supermarkets Interstate

1969

J. C. Penney acquired Supermarkets Interstate, an Omaha-based food retailer.

JCPenney Style Adopted in Advertising

1971

The company adopted the JCPenney style in advertising, and its revenues reached $5 billion for the first time.

Death of James Cash Penney

1971 Feb 12

James Cash Penney died at the age of 95. The company's stores were closed the morning of his funeral on February 16.

JCPenney Reaches Peak Number of Stores

1973

JCPenney reached its peak number of stores, with 2,053 locations.

J. C. Penney Sells Stores in Italy

1977

J. C. Penney sold its four stores in Italy to Italian department store chain La Rinascente.

J. C. Penney Closes Supermarkets Interstate Supermarket Brand

1977

J. C. Penney closed down their unprofitable Supermarkets Interstate supermarket brand which operated in Treasury discount stores; however, the stores that were not in Treasury locations remained open.

J. C. Penney Historic District Designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark

1978

The J. C. Penney Historic District in Kemmerer, Wyoming, was designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark.

JCPenney Stores Start Accepting Visa Cards

1979

JCPenney stores started accepting Visa cards.

Treasury Discount Stores Closed

1980

The company closed the unprofitable Treasury discount stores to focus resources on its core retail stores.

JCPenney Discontinues Several Departments

1983

JCPenney discontinued its appliance, hardware, outdoor equipment, and auto center departments, and sold its automotive centers to Firestone.

JCPenney Begins Selling Goods Online

1983

JCPenney began selling goods online through the Viewtron videotex service.

Halston Signs Deal with JCPenney

1983

Fashion designer Roy Halston signed a six-year, $1 billion deal with JCPenney to sell a line of affordable clothing, accessories, cosmetics, and perfumes.

JCPenney Acquires First National Bank of Harrington

1984

JCPenney acquired the First National Bank of Harrington, Delaware, and renamed it J. C. Penney National Bank.

JCPenney Begins Accepting American Express Cards

1984

JCPenney began accepting American Express cards.

Headquarters Move Announced

1987 Apr

JCPenney announced that it was moving its headquarters to Plano, Texas.

JCPenney Television Shopping Channel Launched

1989

The JCPenney Television Shopping Channel appeared on cable systems.

Construction Begins on New Headquarters in Plano, Texas

1990

Construction on the new company headquarters in Plano, Texas, broke ground.

Construction Completed on New Headquarters in Plano, Texas

1992

Construction on the new company headquarters in Plano, Texas, was completed.

JCPenney Becomes Largest Catalog Retailer in the U.S.

1993

JCPenney became the largest catalog retailer in the United States after Sears closed its catalog business.

JCPenney Expands to Chile

1995

JCPenney expanded to Chile with a store in Santiago.

JCPenney Acquires Kerr Drug

1995

JCPenney expanded its drug store business with the acquisition of Kerr Drug.

JCPenney Acquires Fay's Drug

1996

JCPenney expanded its drug store business with the purchase of Fay's Drug.

JCPenney Acquires Eckerd Chain

1996 Nov

JCPenney acquired the Eckerd chain, merging Fay's, Kerr, and Thrift drug stores into J. C. Penney's drug store subsidiary Thrift Drug.

Fay's, Kerr, and Thrift Drug Stores Re-branded Eckerd

1997

Fay's, most Kerr, and Thrift drug stores were re-branded Eckerd.

JCPenney Launches Online Store

1998

JCPenney launched its online store.

JCPenney Acquires Controlling Interest of Lojas Renner

1998 Dec 9

JCPenney would acquire controlling interest of Lojas Renner for a little over $33 million.

JCPenney Leaves Chile

1999

JCPenney left Chile, closing its home store and selling its main store in Santiago to Almacenes Paris.

JCPenney Closes Under-Performing Stores

2001

JCPenney closed 44 under-performing stores.

JCPenney Sells Insurance Unit to Aegon

2001

JCPenney sold its direct-marketing insurance unit to Dutch insurer Aegon for $1.3 billion in cash.

JCPenney Opens Stores in Strip Centers

2003

JCPenney opened three stores in strip centers in Texas, Minnesota, and Indiana.

JCPenney Sells Eckerd Division

2004

JCPenney exited the drug store division after 35 years, with the sale of its Eckerd division.

JCPenney Sells Mexico Stores to Grupo Carso

2004

JCPenney sold its six Mexico stores to Grupo Carso, which rebranded five of the stores as Dorian's and the other one as Sears Mexico.

JCPenney's E-Commerce Exceeds $1 Billion

2005

JCPenney's e-commerce storefront exceeded the $1 billion revenue mark for the first time.

JCPenney Sells Shares of Lojas Renner

2005 Jun

JCPenney sold off its shares of Lojas Renner, generating $260 million from the sale.

JCPenney Launches Ambrielle Lingerie Label

2007

JCPenney launched the Ambrielle lingerie label.

JCPenney Re-Introduces Cosmetics with Sephora

2007

JCPenney re-introduced cosmetics with the opening of Sephora "stores-within-a-store" inside some JCPenney locations.

JCPenney Changes Store Slogan

2007

JCPenney's store slogan changed from "It's All Inside" to "Every Day Matters."

JCPenney Launches New Website

2007 Nov

JCPenney 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.

JCPenney Adds Linden Street Brand

2008

JCPenney added a new brand to its home collection, Linden Street.

JCPenney Launches American Living Brand

2008 Feb

JCPenney launched the American Living brand, as developed by Ralph Lauren, across several product lines.

JCPenney Partners with Seattle's Best Coffee

2009

JCPenney reached an agreement with Seattle's Best Coffee to feature full-service cafes within leased departments inside JCPenney stores across the country.

JCPenney a Victim of Computer Hacker

2009 Aug

Albert Gonzalez's defense lawyer announced JCPenney was a victim of a computer hacker, although the company stated that no customers' credit card information had been stolen.

Vornado Realty Trust Acquires Stake in JCPenney

2010

Vornado Realty Trust acquired a 9.9% stake in JCPenney.

JCPenney Shuts Down Catalog Business and Outlet Stores

2011 Jan 24

JCPenney shut down its catalog business and 19 outlet stores.

JCPenney Accused of Manipulating Google Search Rankings

2011 Feb 12

The New York Times revealed that JCPenney was using "spamdexing" techniques to manipulate Google search rankings.

Ron Johnson Becomes JCPenney's CEO

2011 Jun

Ron Johnson, former head of Apple's retail division, became JCPenney's CEO.

JCPenney Purchases Stake in Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia

2011 Dec

JCPenney purchased a 16.6% stake in Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, intending to create "mini-Martha Stewart shops" in its stores by 2013.

JCPenney Implements New Pricing Strategy

2012

JCPenney implemented a new pricing strategy, replacing sales with "Every Day" prices, but saw a 22% sales decline by mid-year.

Vornado Realty Trust Sells Stake in JCPenney

2013

Vornado Realty Trust sold its 9.9% stake in JCPenney for $13.00 per share.

Ron Johnson Dismissed as CEO

2013 Apr

Ron Johnson was dismissed and replaced by former CEO Mike Ullman.

JCPenney Liquidates The Foundry Chain

2015

JCPenney announced that it was liquidating its The Foundry Big & Tall Supply Co. chain of standalone clothing stores.

JCPenney Announces Store Closures and Layoffs

2015 Jan

JCPenney announced that it would close 39 under-performing stores nationwide and lay off 2,250 employees.

JCPenney Announces Plans to Relaunch Appliance Sales

2016 Jan

JCPenney announced plans to relaunch its business of selling major appliances.

JCPenney Opens Support Center in Bangalore, India

2016 Feb

JCPenney opened a support center in Bangalore, India.

JCPenney Sells Headquarters Campus in Plano, Texas

2017 Jan

JCPenney sold its headquarters campus and surrounding land in Plano, Texas, to Dreien Opportunity Partners as a leaseback sale.

JCPenney Announces Additional Store Closures

2017 Feb

JCPenney announced that it would shutter two distribution centers and up to 140 under-performing stores.

JCPenney Releases List of Store Closures

2017 Mar 17

JCPenney released a list of 138 locations that would close by the end of June.

JCPenney in Humacao, Puerto Rico Closes Permanently

2018

The JCPenney at Plaza Palma Real in Humacao, Puerto Rico closed permanently, after Hurricane Maria devastated the store in September 2017.

CEO Marvin Ellison Resigns

2018 May 22

JCPenney announced the resignation of their CEO, Marvin Ellison.

Jill Soltau Announced as CEO

2018 Oct 2

JCPenney announced Jill Soltau as their CEO, effective October 15.

JCPenney Stock Price Falls Below $1

2018 Dec 26

The stock price of JCPenney fell below $1 per share for the first time in the company's 110-year history.

JCPenney to Stop Selling Major Appliances

2019 Feb 6

JCPenney said it would stop selling major appliances on February 28, and that furniture would be limited to online and stores in Puerto Rico.

JCPenney Announces Store Closures

2019 Feb 28

JCPenney announced its intent to close 27 stores in 2019, including 18 full-line department stores and nine home-and-furniture stores.

Bill Wofford Hired as CFO

2019 Mar 26

JCPenney announced the hiring of Bill Wofford as chief financial officer.

Shawn Gensch Announced as Chief Customer Officer

2019 May 21

JCPenney announced that Shawn Gensch would be the chief customer officer, to take effect on June 3.

JCPenney Announces Net Sales Decline and Net Loss

2019 May 21

JCPenney announced a net sales decline of 5.6% and a net loss of $154 million for its fiscal first quarter of 2019, which ended on May 5.

JCPenney Closes Stores and Furloughs Employees Due to COVID-19

2020 Mar 15

JCPenney closed all of its stores and furloughed its employees due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

JCPenney Announces Temporary Store Closures Due to COVID-19

2020 Mar 18

JCPenney announced all retail stores would temporarily close in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic until April 2.

JCPenney Announces Limited Store Reopenings

2020 May 1

JCPenney announced a limited number of stores would reopen.

JCPenney Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

2020 May 15

JCPenney filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and announced that there would be an additional 242 store closings, blaming the COVID-19 pandemic for its action.

JCPenney Delisted from New York Stock Exchange

2020 May 18

JCPenney was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange.

Brookfield and Simon Agree to Purchase JCPenney

2020 Sep 9

Brookfield Property Partners and Simon Property Group agreed to purchase JCPenney for about $800 million.

JCPenney Vacates Headquarters in Plano, Texas

2020 Nov

The company permanently vacated its headquarters offices in Plano, Texas.

Court Approves Purchase of JCPenney

2020 Nov 10

The court approved the purchase of JCPenney by Brookfield Property Partners and Simon Property Group.

Jill Soltau Steps Down as CEO

2020 Dec 30

Jill Soltau stepped down as CEO of JCPenney.

Marc Rosen Becomes CEO

2021

Marc Rosen became CEO of JCPenney.

Stanley Shashoua Replaces Jill Soltau as CEO

2021 Jan 1

Stanley Shashoua replaced Jill Soltau as CEO of JCPenney.

JCPenney Opens New Shop-in-Shop Locations

2021 Oct

JCPenney opened 10 new shop-in-shop locations across the US, featuring a wide variety of brands, including indie and BIPOC brands, among them flagship partner Thirteen Lune.

JCPenney's Owners Offer to Purchase Kohl's

2022 Apr

JCPenney's owners—Simon and Brookfield—offered $8.6 billion to purchase Kohl's.

JCPenney Returns to Plano, Texas, Headquarters

2023 Jul

JCPenney returned to its Plano, Texas, headquarters.

JCPenney Founded

Penney Purchases Full Interest in Golden Rule Stores

J. C. Penney Company Incorporated

Headquarters Moved to New York City

J. C. Penney Acquires The Crescent Corset Company

Big Mac Work Clothes Launched

500th Store Opens in Hamilton, Missouri

1,000th Store Opens

Sam Walton Begins Working at J. C. Penney

J. C. Penney Starts National Advertising

J. C. Penney Credit Cards First Issued

First Full-Line Department Store Opens

J. C. Penney Acquires General Merchandise Company

JCPenney Expands to Alaska

First Catalog Issued

JCPenney Expands to Hawaii

JCPenney Expands to Puerto Rico

J. C. Penney Acquires Thrift Drug

J. C. Penney Acquires Supermarkets Interstate

JCPenney Style Adopted in Advertising

Death of James Cash Penney

JCPenney Reaches Peak Number of Stores

J. C. Penney Sells Stores in Italy

J. C. Penney Closes Supermarkets Interstate Supermarket Brand

J. C. Penney Historic District Designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark

JCPenney Stores Start Accepting Visa Cards

Treasury Discount Stores Closed

JCPenney Discontinues Several Departments

JCPenney Begins Selling Goods Online

Halston Signs Deal with JCPenney

JCPenney Acquires First National Bank of Harrington

JCPenney Begins Accepting American Express Cards

Headquarters Move Announced

JCPenney Television Shopping Channel Launched

Construction Begins on New Headquarters in Plano, Texas

Construction Completed on New Headquarters in Plano, Texas

JCPenney Becomes Largest Catalog Retailer in the U.S.

JCPenney Expands to Chile

JCPenney Acquires Kerr Drug

JCPenney Acquires Fay's Drug

JCPenney Acquires Eckerd Chain

Fay's, Kerr, and Thrift Drug Stores Re-branded Eckerd

JCPenney Launches Online Store

JCPenney Acquires Controlling Interest of Lojas Renner

JCPenney Leaves Chile

JCPenney Closes Under-Performing Stores

JCPenney Sells Insurance Unit to Aegon

JCPenney Opens Stores in Strip Centers

JCPenney Sells Eckerd Division

JCPenney Sells Mexico Stores to Grupo Carso

JCPenney's E-Commerce Exceeds $1 Billion

JCPenney Sells Shares of Lojas Renner

JCPenney Launches Ambrielle Lingerie Label

JCPenney Re-Introduces Cosmetics with Sephora

JCPenney Changes Store Slogan

JCPenney Launches New Website

JCPenney Adds Linden Street Brand

JCPenney Launches American Living Brand

JCPenney Partners with Seattle's Best Coffee

JCPenney a Victim of Computer Hacker

Vornado Realty Trust Acquires Stake in JCPenney

JCPenney Shuts Down Catalog Business and Outlet Stores

JCPenney Accused of Manipulating Google Search Rankings

Ron Johnson Becomes JCPenney's CEO

JCPenney Purchases Stake in Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia

JCPenney Implements New Pricing Strategy

Vornado Realty Trust Sells Stake in JCPenney

Ron Johnson Dismissed as CEO

JCPenney Liquidates The Foundry Chain

JCPenney Announces Store Closures and Layoffs

JCPenney Announces Plans to Relaunch Appliance Sales

JCPenney Opens Support Center in Bangalore, India

JCPenney Sells Headquarters Campus in Plano, Texas

JCPenney Announces Additional Store Closures

JCPenney Releases List of Store Closures

JCPenney in Humacao, Puerto Rico Closes Permanently

CEO Marvin Ellison Resigns

Jill Soltau Announced as CEO

JCPenney Stock Price Falls Below $1

JCPenney to Stop Selling Major Appliances

JCPenney Announces Store Closures

Bill Wofford Hired as CFO

Shawn Gensch Announced as Chief Customer Officer

JCPenney Announces Net Sales Decline and Net Loss

JCPenney Closes Stores and Furloughs Employees Due to COVID-19

JCPenney Announces Temporary Store Closures Due to COVID-19

JCPenney Announces Limited Store Reopenings

JCPenney Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

JCPenney Delisted from New York Stock Exchange

Brookfield and Simon Agree to Purchase JCPenney

JCPenney Vacates Headquarters in Plano, Texas

Court Approves Purchase of JCPenney

Jill Soltau Steps Down as CEO

Marc Rosen Becomes CEO

Stanley Shashoua Replaces Jill Soltau as CEO

JCPenney Opens New Shop-in-Shop Locations

JCPenney's Owners Offer to Purchase Kohl's

JCPenney Returns to Plano, Texas, Headquarters

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