The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1914-05-16
GREAT PROGRESS
IN MERCHANDISING
TWELVE YEARS AGO J. c. PENNEY
STARTED ONE STORE
NOW HAS 20.
Golden Rule Stores Now Dot Many I'm
pOrtant Points In Many Western
States.

is a part of the Penney Store system
"The Department Store" magazine
Editor)
Twelve years ago young man
named James G. Penney, rented
store, forty-five feet deep, with I
frontage of twenty-four feet on tn,
main street of Kammerer, Wyoming
Over the door he hung sign which
read "The Golden Rule Store" A few
days ago he and his thirty buyers com
pleted purchases in New York aggre-
eating a million dollars. The stock
will go on the shelves of seventy Gold
en- Rule Stores scattered over the
thirteen states in the Rocky Mountain
section of the west.
The little shop in Kammerer took
in $4,000 during it's first year. Last
year the Golden Rule chain did bus
mess OF 100000. All this growth in
twelve years, and yet none of these
stores is in large city, and none of
them has a fashionable trade L..
boast no beautiful show windows and
their advertising is done on modest
scale. The secret behind their growth
is not to be found in any Of the trade
methods used by the big city stores.
They have thrived on the simplest,
sanest merchandising principles.
The story of the Golden Rule chain
is at once a lesson and an inspiration
for all merchants. Department store
men who live in fear of the chain
store can we'll take heed of Mr.. Pen
ney's methods. The chain store, which
bases its appeal upon the cry From
Maker to User" has little in common
with the department store. 1t is large
ly manufacturing proposition. But
the Golden Rule stores are not a by
product of a factory. They buy in
the same field as the department store
and their problems, in part, at least,
are the same. Their story Is the whole
history of the coming of the chain
store. If such stores are to take
trade from the big city establishments
it behooves department store men to
study them. Their phenomenal growth
shows that they fulfill a demand made
by the people. Every reason for the
success Of all chain stores Is contain |
ed in story of the Golden Rule or
ganization.
One word sums up the rise of the |
firm that started SO humbly twelve |
years ago. That word is MEN. No |
one ever took charge of Golden Rule
store who had not been tried in the
hard school Of selling from behind the
counter. The men at the head of
every link in the chain at one time
waited on customers themselves. They
are real statesmen frst-everything
else afterwards.
But this alone does not account for
The trailing of chain over thirteen
states. Behind these men are the
right goods. No customer of Golden
Rule store was ever "stung." Under
the laws that govern the organization
this would be impossible. Each Of
The thirty buyers who recently secured
New York City for merchandise had
orders never to sacrifice quality for
,heapness. While low prices rule in
he stores, a two-dollar hat is always
worth two dollars.
The Penney stores are located in .
owns from 1000 to 10000 population I,
md, widely scattered as they are,
here is a great variation in the de-
hands of their separate fields. This
dds to the difficulty of the buying
but it has been worked out
Twice year the thirty
uyers go to New York, where per-
office is maintained. They are
ivided into six committees with an
experienced man at the head Of each.
The trips of the Golden Rule buyers y
} the metropolis are no pleasure
aunts. The committees start work al
light in the morning and spend the
ntire day visiting the trade. They
eturn in time for dinner which pre-
edes a meeting at 1890 There the
esults of the days work are discussed
nd plans made for the next invision =,
the wholesale district.
Naturally, every members of each
)mmittee is not an experienced buyer
all lines, but under this system this .
ounger men learn quickly from tho e =,
no have been in the game for years
iven a few trips to New York and
ey soon master the lines which they
e to handle. The buyers commit
es work like training school, whire
'actica1 laboratory work is taught, Al
i'd the daily meetings correspond to
ctures and recitations. A graduated
oduct of this school knows exactly
hat the Golden Rule customers want "a
ID just how to buy it. he
In how many great department an
pres are buyers given such syste- an
atic training? DO
The Golden Rule patronage Is drawn pu
d held by such buying methods. The tw
ople get the best for their money, ST.
d they show their appreciation by
licking" Prices are low enough to We