Target vs Jc Penney Case Study

Target and JC Penney are both well known brand name retailers in their respected retail areas. You would not realize that the roots of Target and JC Penney stores were similar with department store backgrounds. Both stores started out in the 1900’s as department and dry goods stores. Over the years each company has developed their own niche and gone in separate directions. Target went the direction of a discount retail store and JC Penney went the direction of a retail department store. There is not much difference between a discount store and a department store except the discount offers more wide range of products where a department store will specialize in a certain products such as clothing, furniture, etc. Both had the same thoughts for their customers to offer quality products at fair prices and a value for your money.

Target was originally known as Goodfellow Dry Goods which was founded in 1902 by George Draper Dayton in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A year later, Mr. Dayton decided to change the store’s name to reflect his name so in 1903 it was called Dayton Dry Goods Company. Mr. Dayton opened his stores due to the demand by customers who wanted value and convenience. He wanted to provide customers with high quality and designed products at a low price. He wanted customers to have a different kind of shopping experience when they would come to Dayton Dry Goods Company. JC Penney had a similar start with the company originally being called The Golden Rule store. James Cash Penney started his dry goods and clothing store in 1902 in Kemmerer, Wyoming. Penney had a strong religious back ground and the reason he called his initial stores The Golden Rule was that was his philosophy of “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”. (Beaver 1) The owners of the companies each has a strong religious background which helped to guide them in their endeavors as they used their religious influence to mold their new businesses and make policy for the companies. Each...