A look at J.C. Penney milestones:
• 1902: James Cash Penney, son of a Baptist preacher and farmer, opens the Golden Rule, a dry goods and clothing store in Kemmerer, Wyoming. The name was based on his guiding principle of building a business through serving the community with fair dealing and honest value.
• 1913: Incorporated in Utah as the J.C. Penney Co. Inc. and the Golden Rule name was phased out.
• 1914: Headquarters moves from Salt Lake City, Utah, to New York City.
• 1929: Begins selling shares as a publicly traded company.
• 1951: Store sales exceed $1 billion for the first time.
• 1963: Issues its first catalog.
• 1971: James Cash Penney dies at age 95.
• 1972: Launches first national television.
• 1979: Catalog sales pass $1 billion for the first time.
• 1992: Headquarters moves to Plano, Texas.
• 1994: Launches jcpenney.com, its online store.
• 2005: Penney’s e-commerce business surpasses $1 billion in sales.
• 2009: Opens its first store in Manhattan.
• 2010: Becomes the exclusive retailer of Liz Claiborne and Claiborne in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Exits catalog business. Introduces mobile coupons.
• 2011: Ron Johnson, a former Apple executive, becomes CEO.
• 2012: Implements a new pricing strategy that eliminates hundreds of coupons and sales in favor of everyday lower prices.
Begins rolling out new shops in stores to turn the stores into mini-malls of sorts.