William jcpenney biography

American department store chain

This article is about the department store chain. For its founder, see James Cash Penney. For the retail chain branded as Penneys in the Republic of Ireland, see Primark.

JCPenney (colloquially Penney's and abbreviated JCP) is an American department storechain with 656 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. It is managed as part of the Catalyst Brands portfolio alongside other apparel retailers such as Brooks Brothers and Eddie Bauer.

Its departments include men's, women's and children's apparel, cosmetics, jewelry, and home furnishings along with leased departments managed by Shearshare, US Vision and Lifetouch. The chain focuses on lifestyle products for middle class households.

Overview

JCPenney was founded in 1902 as a group of dry goods stores that James Cash Penney managed as part of the Golden Rule chain and incorporated under his own name in 1913. The stores were initially located in downtown areas but shifted to shopping malls during the 1960s.

The chain struggled in the early 21st century amid the rise of internet retail and the decline of mall traffic and stay-home measures during the COVID-19 pandemic forced it into Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May 2020. It emerged from bankruptcy under the joint ownership of mall operators Simon Property Group and Brookfield Properties, later joined by Authentic Brands Group as a minority owner.

In January 2025 JCPenney was combined with SPARC Group — Simon and Authentic's portfolio of legacy retail brands — to form Catalyst Brands.

20th century

Background and early history: 1902–1960

James Cash Penney was born in Hamilton, Missouri. After graduating from high school, Penney worked for a local retailer. He relocated to Colorado at the advice of a doctor, hoping that a better climate would improve his health. In 1898, Penney went to work for Thomas Call

American businessman

William M. Batten (1909–1999) was an American businessman. He served as chairman and chief executive officer of the J. C. Penney Company from 1964 to 1974, and as chairman of the New York Stock Exchange from 1976 to 1984.

Biography

Early life

William Batten was born in Reedy, Roane County, West Virginia on 4 June 1909. He received a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Ohio State University in 1932 and did graduate work at the University of Chicago.

Career

In 1926, he started his career at J. C. Penney as a part-time salesman in his hometown. In 1935, he worked as a full-time salesman in Lansing, Michigan. He introduced the Penney credit card. After serving in the Second World War, he worked in the New York City office of J. C. Penney in 1945. He became vice president in 1953 and a member of the board of directors in 1955. In 1958, he became president and chief executive. He served as chairman from 1964 to 1974.

From 1976 to 1984, he served as chairman of the New York Stock Exchange, taking over from James J. Needham. In this capacity, he oversaw a $70 million renovation of the exchange floor and the installation of electronic equipment that tripled the daily trading capacity to 150 million shares.

He served on the boards of directors of AT&T, Boeing and Texas Instruments. He served as chairman of The Business Council from 1971 to 1972. From 1984 to 1986, he was a visit

From inauspicious beginnings rose one of the great entrepreneurs in American history, a man with unusual dedication and exceptionally high ideals. James Cash Penney, Jr., was born September 16, 1875, near Hamilton, Missouri, to the Reverend James C. Penney and his wife, Fanny. The boy was one of twelve children, only six of whom survived to adulthood. His father was a less-than-prosperous Baptist preacher who also farmed. A man of strong Christian beliefs and upright morals, Reverend Penney later repeatedly ran for office on Populist tickets: he never won. The younger J. C. Penney survived being widowed twice and losing almost all his wealth in the Great Depression, but continued leading, writing, teaching, and preaching until his death at the age of ninety-five. Above all else, at every stage of life he shared everything he had. His name lives on on over eight hundred stores across the United States

EARLY LESSONS

When he was between eight and ten years old, Reverend Penney told young “Jim” that he needed to earn money to contribute to the family’s limited coffers. Jim then profitably raised and sold hogs. But when neighbors complained about the squealing noise, his father made him sell the pigs well before they were fattened for market. Jim wasn’t happy, but went along with his father’s wishes. At fifteen, he started working Saturdays in a local store and took a liking to storekeeping. In high school, he was a mediocre student but an outstanding orator, delivering uplifting messages about patriotism, Christianity, and the merits of hard work to his fellow students.

Reverend Penney worked hard to instill ethics in his son. In one storekeeping job, Jim discovered the owner substituting cheap coffee into the container of a higher priced product: his father demanded that he quit. Later, the entrepreneurial young man sold watermelons outside the gates of the local fair. But his father pointed out that those selli