Milford chronicle., 1929-10-11

room. Mrs. Penney helped me in the
store and often made the baby's bed
on "a pile of Overalls.
"Kemmerer was a little mining
town, my income was small and our
policy OF operating the store on a
cash basis was looked upon as one
certain to fail.
The business at the end of the
first year was satisfactory.
The fact that L had been given
the opportunity to own an interest
in the store, a share in the thing l
was creating, fired my ambition to
the limit. The fact that responsible
ity had been placed on my shoulders
developed the best spirit there was
in me. 1 have tried to remember
these facts in my dealings with
young men.
1T was at the Kemmerer store
that 1 got the inspiration for the
chain of stores and for the system
of partnerships for the managers. 1T
worked with me. 1t will work with
Others 1 said to myself.
1.-The second store of the ]. G. Pen
ney Company was opened at Cumber-
land, Wyoming. In this store, en-
ployed young man by the name of
Earl c. Sans. I took Mr.. Sans into
partnership with me in my third
store. ALI of the subsequent Penney
stores have been built on the part
nership basis"
These managers and salesmen of
these new stores were trained in the
Penney methods. The spirit of the
original Kemmerer store has become
the policy of them all. Cash sales,
old-fashioned honesty, friendliness
and the most value that can be
crowded into every customers dollar
is the policy of each ]. c. Penney
Co. store today as it was q years
ago.
Today they call Mr.. Penney "the
man with a thousand partners" The
manager of a ]. c. Penney Company
store is stock owner in the COM
pany. The amount of stock he is per-
mitted to purchase is determined not
only by his length of service with the
company but by the efficiency with
which he runs his store and by the
thoroughness with which he trains
his assistants to advance to mana
gerial positions in other ]. G. Penney
stores. Thus the ]. c. Penney Com
pany forms sort of endless chain
of helpfulness, each man who re-
ceives help and training being pied
ged to pass it on in turn to young
er and less experienced man.
The most humble employee in a ].
C. Penney store has a clear path be-
fore him leading to the highest po-
sions in the company. The showing
he makes depends upon his own
ability and efforts. The company
does everything in its power to en-
courage advancement. Correspond
ence courses on subject vital to a
salesman and future store manager
are furnished employees free by the
company. Owing to the constant in
crease in the number of stores there
is always better position for man
as soon as he shows himself able to
fill the position above him and to
train the man below him to step in
to the place his own promotion will
leave vacant.
Mr.. Penney's plan of partnership
responsibility and rewards has made
his store organization more success
full than he ever dreamed. An or
ganization of fifty stores was the
greatest he ever hoped to accom-
plish. At the present time there are
n, II
er opportunities for the future are
possible for those who carry out this
principle of business.
Some years ago, Mr.. Penney retir-
ed as President of the company
which bears his name and became |
Chairman of the Board of Directors. |
Succeeding him in this Office was E.
c. Sims, the first salesman employed |
by Mr.. Penney in his Cumberland |
store. All of the other directors of
the company have risen from similar
humble beginnings with the ]. C. |
Penney Company.
AS Chairman of the Board of Di-
rectors, Mr.. Penney has more time
to do with as he pleases. He is now
interesting himself in various public
welfare projects.
One of Mr.. Penney's philanthropic
interests is represented by the Mem
orial Community, at Penney Farms,
near Jacksonville, Florida. About a
central structure of a Norman Gothic
Church are twenty Norman Gothic
houses containing ninety-six spa
cious apartments comfortably in a
style harmonious with the architec- |
ture of the exterior.
Here in these beautiful surround |
ings, in an ideal climate, retired |
ministers of all denominations may
come with their wives to pass the |
sunset of their years. Mr.. Penney's |
father was a Primitive Baptist min
lister who served, as was customary
in those days, without remuneration. !
His sons recollection of the hard
ship of those years is reflected in
this magnificent gift, dedicated to
the memory of his parents.
In the publishing field, Mr.. Pen
ney is president of the Christian
Herald, which for so years has been
the leading weekly magazine in the
field of church publ
cations.
Despite the broad scope of his
many interests, Mr.. Penney seems
always to have time to visit the
stores in the chain bearing his name
and is frequently seen chatting to a
customer or wrapping up bundle
for busy clerk or doing his bit
back in the shoe department which
has always been his favorite among
all the various departments Of the
stores which bear his name. !!