Day: November 7, 2015
My J. C. Penney Story… With the man not the store!
My J C PENNEY Story, the man not the store!
One of my first attempts to develop my business was to have a friend and future partner, called Gene Shaffer, to introduce me to his contact at J.C. Penney Inc. It was the lamp and gift Department buyer, a young man called Harvey Markovitz, who he and I became good friends afterwards. It was while I was developing a new product called Ceralon in that Department. Because of the success their, I was asked to set up this same department in their new stores, as they opened, and I was asked to travel to each new Penney store opening. with Mr. J. C. Penney and usually a different young beautiful women who they would call “Miss Penney” for the opening.
I traveled with J.C. Penney and a different Miss Penney for 3 years as they were opening new J. C. Penney stores all over the United States. He was a gentle old man who loved to laugh and look at what he had ACCOMPLISHED. He was at each opening as a way of introducing each new store to the location. We would be invited to appear on each local TV show to have Mr Penney say a few words by inviting the audience to come to the opening and that he would love to greet everyone who would come. As old as he was, he stayed there the whole day shaking hands with all the new customers. Miss Penney was there as a pretty young women who bring youth to the opening. It was my job to introduce to the people in the gift department how to make displays of the different products we offered, so while in the TV studio, I demonstrated to the audience the affect our new ideas could be used in there homes.
At the end of each session, I was always approached by different local women, some who worked at Penney’s, but mostly customers who wanted to meet me later. Never once did I ever even consider it, not to mention how often the “Miss Penney” asking me to go for a drink after Mr Penney would retire to the local hotel where we three stayed and usually two nights. At the time, I had strong Catholic values that always guided me in the right direction, not that I would be any different today? There is another similar story coming, only about The F W Woolworth new store openings and making flower arrangement on TV and how I was copied by none other than “Merrill Live”!
Someone I’ll never forget when I was young and 20!
When I was young and 20+!
It was 1955, and I was in Macy’s Jewelry department looking for a ring. I was waiting for the salesman to bring me a black velvet covered board with 6 beautiful engagement rings that were fitted into slots to hold them firmly in place.. As I waited, from the corner of my eye a noticed that a women came and stood alongside of me also waiting for the salesman to help her with something she was holding in her hand. When he came back, he told that he would be with her shortly and began telling me about each ring pointing to it saying what each cost and the size of it in carats. As he did so, I picked each one up and looked at it like I knew what I was doing, but actually I didn’t have a clue. The woman along side me saw my indecision and said to me… “Don’t look at the ring because of price or carat size, but look at each and decide which one you like best, and the one you would be proud to give.” I turned and looked at her and realized she was someone I recognized as special. She was Angela Lansbury and as pleasant as could be, so I smiled a big smile and thanked her and I did as she suggested, and bought a one carat perfect gem. It was much more than I could afford, but it was the one I really liked, and handed it back to the salesman. He then said he now needed the size that would fit my girlfriend. I again looked shocked as I had no idea of what it was. Again, Angela Lansbury smiled at me and “Just buy the ring, and give it to her, then afterwards you both can come down here and get it sized properly”. Wow, she was so smart and very beautiful, even more than in the Movies. I thanked her with a big smile and she smiled and turned her attention to the salesman. It was 20 years later that I visited that Department to buy a 3 carat ring to placate my wife who was now a very different person than the one I loved, but that’s another story for another time. What triggered this story was for a mili-second, I saw Angela Lansbury on TV as she is today, and it brought back my first meeting of her.