Fashion Forward: JC Penney Provides Quality Clothing, Fashion Accessories, and Home Furnishings in Great Bend for Over 40 Years

While school-age kids may not be looking forward to that first bell of the academic year, JC Penney associates are eager to help them find some new duds for the occasion.

“It is back-to-school time so our big focus is on kids,” JCP Store Manager Mary Foley said. “Everybody tends to come in to shop for kids in August. Actually, August is our second biggest sales month of the year, behind December. Christmas is the time for jewelry, and other men’s and women’s gifts.”

Parents will be able to find clothing for anyone in the family – from infants on up through juniors and adults. In addition to JCP’s popular St. John’s Bay, Worthington, Arizona and Okie Dokie labels, it now has Uproar for boys ages 7-16.

The JCP catalog business also will launch the Supergirl and Olsenboye lines. Supergirl is the label of Nastia Liukin, Gold Medal gymnast; Olsenboye is the exclusive brand by the Olsen Twins.

Original Operation - The Great Bend JC Penney store has been in its current location at the intersection of Broadway & Kansas since the store opened in 1966. For over forty years, JC Penney has been the area’s leading department store.

Clothing is one of JCP’s main attractions but its other departments are successful too. In fact, bed & bath will soon carry the Cindy Crawford line of products.

“And we are pleased to announce that we will have small appliances soon,” Foley said. “This is our private Penney’s label called Cooks. We will have toasters, blenders, griddles, bar stools, cookware and knives. We are excited about this because we have wanted it for a long time.

“We feel it was a niche that had been missing,” Foley continued. “It is mainly the result of customer requests.”

The other JCP departments are jewelry, shoes and lingerie. Their attraction to customers also fluctuates; it depends on the time of year. When customers can’t make it into the store, they rely on the JCP catalog. This side of the business is “phenomenal,” Foley commented.

Professional Outfitter- JC Penney has everything you need to outfit yourself for a day on the job - from pants, skirts, dresses, shoes, purses, jewelry and undergarments to polos, suit jackets, and ties. Check out the ever-changing selection at JC Penney today.

“People were concerned that when they did away with the big spring and fall books that we were phasing out the catalog,” the store manager recalled. “Just the opposite is true. It is not going away. The catalog allows us to open up our business to a wider assortment. In addition, we are looking at a more ‘green’ approach by targeting the smaller catalogs.

“If they see something in the Wichita store, we can order it and have it here in a matter of days through the catalog,” she added. “Obviously, there will always be that person who travels out of town to shop. But I shop locally. I always start locally. It is good for the community. It keeps us here and open. And even though there are always rumors, we have no intention of going anywhere.”

Foley also noted that JCP’s online business is available at customers’ fingertips. They have access to everything that local sales associates have access to.

Customers didn’t have online access back in 1966, when JCP opened at its current Broadway and Kansas location. But the company has always catered to its patrons with a variety of products. It is one of the mainstays of the “department store” – a term you don’t hear often these days but it still applies to JCP.

Sign Language - A JC Penney Store associate works on creating and sorting tags for the hundreds of racks throughout the store. "Every time we have a big sale, it takes a lot of work to get everything ready before the customers come in the store," says store manager Mary Foley. "We either work late the night before or come in early to get the inventory marked and the racks labeled with the appropriate signs."

The building, which has 35,000 square feet of selling space, was home to Wiley’s department store before JCP moved in. The Great Bend JCP employs 45 people, with an increase to 90 at Christmastime.

Some may think that the My Town stores would be a competitive detriment to the long-time downtown fixture. They would think wrong.

“My Town draws people in,” Foley explained. “We like to think maybe we are a destination too. They can shop here and then go to have coffee at Perk’s or go to the Kansas store.

“Competition is good for all businesses,” she elaborated. “It keeps you on top of your game, keeps your focus on the customer. And the economic recovery is starting to show here in this location. We are doing very, very well.”

Foley also credits the local JCP success to the home office in Plano, Tx.
“Our buying office does an excellent job of keeping up with trends,” Foley said. “They keep the new items coming in. We think people will be excited with all the new things – clothing lines, Cindy Crawford and small appliances.

Service Center - A JC Penney's customer makes an exchange with the customer service desk inside the east entrance of JC Penney's. Here, customers can also place orders through the JC Penney catalog.

“As a company, our focus is on customer service. Every customer who makes a purchase has the ability to give us feedback with our online survey. “

"They can tell us how the service was and if they found what they wanted," Foley says. "We have had good response to it. It’s even been a bigger response than some of the stores that are bigger than we are. The company listens.”

When customers fill out the online survey, they can print out a coupon for 15 percent off their next purchase. This is just one of the ways JCP attracts customers with sale items. It also offers extra coupons to JCP cardholders, and anyone who receives mail or reads the newspaper knows the company is willing to offer percentages off and cash discounts on a regular basis.

And there are no complaints from customers, who respond to the quantity and quality of discounted prices. They help keep the foot traffic moving.
“This also has a lot to do with keeping us competitive as well,” Foley said. “Macy’s and Kohl’s do a lot of promotions and advertising, and we consider them our competition as a company.”

The JCP Company also is a part of the community in its role as a good corporate citizen. It is a major United Way supporter, and the local store is also involved in Relay for Life, the Food Bank and Barton County 4-H after-school programs.

Foley is originally from Valley Falls in northeast Kansas and has been in Great Bend for 18 months. She has been with JCP for 18 years, working her way up the ladder to store manager in Great Bend – her seventh store. Foley graduated in 1992 from Kansas State University with a degree in apparel and textile marketing.

“I guess you could say I do it all to help out. I actually personally interview everyone to make sure they will fulfill our service needs,” Foley commented. “I also move fixtures around on the floor and have been known to scoop snow.

“We have five supervisors who do an amazing job,” she added. “They certainly make my job much easier. Many companies say they have a family atmosphere. This truly is family. It is not a cliché here.”

For more information, contact:

JC Penney
Broadway & Kansas Ave.
Great Bend, KS 67530