History of J.C. Penney

J.C. Penney was founded by James Cash Penney and William Henry McManus who gave the store the name “The Golden Rule Store,” which was owned by T.M. Callahan in Longmont, Colorado. Later the name J.C. Penney was given to the store when Mr. Callahan sold out his interests in 1912. The mother store is located in Kemmerer, Wyoming, and still operates, as of 2009.  J.C. Penney relocated its headquarters in 1909 to Salt Lake City, Utah to be closer to banks and railroads and again moved in 1914 to Buffalo, New York to simplify the buying, financing, and transportation of goods. The companies’ oldest private brand launched in 1922 called Big Mac work clothes. In 1924 the company already opened up its 500th store and in 1928 had doubled in size to open up the 1,000th store.

Today J.C. Penney has many stores in the modern day malls being one of the anchor stores; they are one of the largest catalog retailers, and also have a large online business. The new headquarters in located in Plano, Texas where it broke ground in 1990 and plans on residing there since its opening in 1992.

Job description/ Average wage

Sales Associate: The sales associate works in a particular department within the store and is responsible for good customer service. They must help the customer find the products that they are looking for plus take the sale and charge it up for the customer. Many times the customer may put the item on their J.C. Penney charge account or on another major credit card. The customer may also use cash or a debit card to pay for their purchases. The sales associate must make sure that they keep their department looking nice and in order. They are expected to straighten up the shelves or racks where the merchandise is placed whenever necessary. The average wage for a sales associate is $7.00 to start and goes upward to $10.00 depending on experience and education.

Supervisor-Hourly: The supervisor who works hourly is responsible for his/her shift and their production. They must make sure that the shelves are kept stocked and all items are priced before being put on the shelf. Normally the hourly supervisor takes care of customer complaints, theft, and problems between employees’s while they are working their shift. They must report to their supervisors whenever a problem does arise or call in Loss Prevention if thefts do occur. Normally the wage starts out at $13.15 an hour depending on experience and education.

Department Manager: The Department Manager is responsible for everything that takes place in their department. They are much like the store manager except they are only held accountable for the specific department that they work. They must make sure that everything is run smooth, do the hiring, replacement of employee’s or take care of any employee problems. They make sure that their department is kept well stocked and take care of sales etc. They are also responsible to make sure that each end-cap in the department is kept looking nice and stocked with the product geared for the season or sales. The average wage for a department manager is $46,500 per year.

Benefits

  • Healthcare benefits
  • 401 (k) savings plan
  • Paid time off days, along with holidays
  • Term Life and disability coverage
  • Employee’s receive a discount on their purchases

How to apply

You may apply for a position at J.C. Penney by visiting their website at:
http://www.jcpenney.net/careers/

You may also visit your local J.C. Penney retail store and apply for open posted positions.