EDUCATORS ’ PERSPECTIVE
J . C . Penney Archives
The J . C . Penney store in Kemmerer , Wyoming , still named the Golden Rule Store before the 1913 name change .
J . C . Penney store location map , published in the May 1930 issue of The Dynamo .
advantages . First , they took the Golden Rule seriously , offering quality goods at low prices ; second , as the chain grew , the stores formed a buying syndicate that gave them the ability to purchase inventory at lower prices than their competitors ; and third , Callahan ’ s plan for expansion involved offering the manager of a new store the opportunity to become a partner in that store . Callahan would put up twothirds of the funds for the store , while the new manager put up the other one-third . Potential managers began by working in existing stores , where they were trained and evaluated as potential new partners .
Penney did well in Callahan ’ s Longmont store and was soon asked to move to the Golden Rule store in Evanston , Wyoming , which was managed by William Johnson . Penney worked in Evanston for about three years before Callahan and Johnson offered him a partnership in a new store . Although Johnson urged Penney to open a store in Ogden , Utah , population 20,000 , Penney argued that Ogden was too big and opted to start the new store in the small mining town of Kemmerer , Wyoming , population 900 .
On April 14 , 1902 , Penney opened his first Golden Rule store in a 25 ' × 45 ' building in downtown Kemmerer . According to Penney biographer Mary Elizabeth Curry , Penney , his first wife Betha and their young son Roswell lived above the store in the attic “ using shoe boxes for chairs and other packing cases for tables .”
Kemmerer was a huge risk for young Penney . Others had tried and failed to open similar stores there but were unable to compete with the company store , which offered credit to mine workers . Any debt accrued at the company store was deducted from the miner ’ s future paychecks . This left miners in a state of perpetual indebtedness to the company store . Since most mining towns were in remote areas with no competition , company stores charged high prices and sold low-quality goods . The Golden Rule ’ s cash and carry policy kept Penney ’ s customers out of debt , while offering reasonably priced high-quality goods . Penney also offered unusually good
customer service . He not only knew all of his customers by name , but he also memorized their clothing sizes . This was very convenient for customers who came in to shop for their spouse but had forgotten their shoe or shirt size .
Penney soon opened two more stores in Rock Springs and Cumberland in partnership with Callahan and Johnson . In 1905 , Callahan and Johnson had a serious falling out and ended their partnership . Penney bought out his partners in January 1906 and became the sole owner of three Golden Rule stores . These stores became the foundation of the J . C . Penney Company , the nation ’ s first transcontinental department store .
Penney added new stores quickly using the two-thirds / one-third ownership model with his new store managers . Penney ’ s long-term goal was to open at least 50 stores . He accomplished this in 1914 . By 1930 , there were more than 1,400 J . C . Penney stores throughout the United States . In 1909 , Penney moved the headquarters of his business to Salt Lake City and
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