SUE INSPIRES

THE INTEGRITY OF A PENNEY

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A poor minister's son from Missouri, James cash Penny founded one of America's most successful retail business on the simple timeless values of honesty,respect,integrity and hard work.

In addition to his work as a minister, penny's father was a farmer and penny learned to work on the family farm near Hamilton,Missouri. His father wanted to make sure his children understood the value of money,so he made james work to buy his own clothes,starting from age 8years old.

In 1893,Penny graduated from high school,hoping to become a lawyer instead, he became a sales man at a local dry goods store. J.M.Hale and Brothers.

Penny soon learned that everyone did not live by the same values he held dear. Other clerks took business away from him and he had to learn to be more confident,strengthen his sales skills,and stand up for the sales opportunities that were rightfully his.

In the midst of this time of personal and professional growth,penny's health began to decline, in danger of contracting tuberculosis,his doctor urged him to relocate from Missouri to a drier climate. He ended up in Denver,Colorado,where he found employment in the dry goods trade he had learned from Mr.Hale

The industrious and ambitious penny soon had enough money to start his own business,so he opened a butcher shop,it failed,but not because penny believed in treating all customers with kindness and respect and when he refused to grant special treatment to a certain influential customer that customer used his influence to force penny out of business

Following the closing of the butcher shop,penny went to work for the chain of Golden Rule Dry goods stores,He enjoyed success there,and eventually became a partner in the company.

While working for Golden Rule and living in Wyoming, penny fell in love with Berta Alva Hess,and married her.
Based on his philosophy of honesty,
integrity and respect, Penny's business continued to grow and he soon opened his own Golden Rule store, he provided quality merchandise at reasonable prices for working class families and developed a reputation for excellent service. He refused to take credit,
requiring customers to pay cash for their purchases.

The owners of Golden rule eventually sold out to penny and he changed the chain's name to J.C penny company. Penny moved the company's head quaters to new york in 1914 and opened the first official J.C Penny store in Missouri in 1918.

Penny had several personal tragedies to overcome as he continued to build his retail empire. In 1910,he suffered the devastating loos of his wife berta who succumbed to pneumonia,leaving him to raise two soon alone . He wrote that her death caused his word to crash around him. In 1919,penny married again, his wife mary bore him a son who died in 1923,leaving him a widower again in 1926,he married again he and his wife,caroline had two daughters and remained married until penny's death

J.C penny built a thriving business and a life upon good godly principles,he gave up on his integrity.

No matter what you try to accomplish in life,hold fast to the principles in Gos's Word and you will always be successful.

Love Always

Sue!