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J.C. Penney

A department store chain strong in small towns where Walton began his retail career.

jcpenney.com App Store2 sources4 tips

In short

J.C. Penney's biggest influence was as a teacher: Sam Walton took an $85 a month job there and absorbed frugality, small-town focus, customer satisfaction before profit, and manager profit sharing. One manager on a 25% bonus waved a $65,000 check in 1940, and Walton later paid his own managers about 25% of store profit. Lesson: copy proven incentive and cost habits early.

What was said about J.C. Penney

Competition and markets1

Sam Walton shamelessly copied good ideas from J.C. Penney, Kmart and Sol Price▶ 19:30Sam's Club went from 3 clubs at the end of 1983 to 105 clubs with over $5 billion in annual sales by 1990.Founders · How Sam Walton Worked

Building the company1

Sam Walton aligned incentives by giving store managers a share of profits, copied from J.C. Penney▶ 6:20Walton paid managers around 25% of store profit in the early days.Founders · How Sam Walton Worked

Leadership and culture1

Sam Walton pushed customer satisfaction above everything, down to free socks with a returned shoe▶ 30:55Founders · How Sam Walton Worked

Capital and deals1

Ken Langone took Home Depot public in 1981 at 20% interest rates and let early investors ride▶ 1:15:50Those early investors would be well north of a 50,000x return today.Acquired · The Home Depot: How America's aging houses built the best stock of the last 45 years

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