Tue, Dec 02 2008
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Published September 29, 2008 02:36 pm - Oskaloosa JC Penney Store Manager Joe Connelly celebrated 25 years with the company Friday. Joe Connelly celebrates 25 years with JC Penney By DUANE NOLLEN The Oskaloosa Herald OSKALOOSA — Oskaloosa JC Penney Store manager Joe Connelly was planning to replace some carpet in his store on his 25th anniversary with the company Friday, but his employees had other ideas.
“I was just going to keep it quiet today,” Connelly said. However, the store employees had a breakfast for him as well as a luncheon. “I was not aware of it,” he said. “There’s a lot of food back there.” Connelly said the best thing about his six-store, 25-year career with JC Penney is the people he works with. He said his store staff is like “a second family.” Connelly began his JC Penney career in Dubuque. Next, he moved to Omaha, Neb., and later to the store in Council Bluffs, and then, Bellvue, Neb. The fifth store he worked in was in Centerville, and then in 2001, he added the Oskaloosa store to his Centerville assignment. He has been exclusively with the Oskaloosa store since 2005. “We’ve maintained friendships with a lot of people even years after we left” Dubuque and Nebraska, he said. Connelly remembers his first job with the company — he was a fine jewelry department manager in Dubuque. He both managed the department and bought the merchandise that his department sold. He said JC Penney used to buy their merchandise from local suppliers; however, since the 1990s, the company, and the industry has been centralized. Now, the corporation buys merchandise from a centralized location and shipped to the individual stores. “It’s a lot more competitive,” Connelly said. “The company can negotiate lower prices.” Also, the centralized system means that logistics of shipping merchandise to various stores comes into play. Efficiency is key, and technology plays an increasing role. “Everything is much faster pace,” Connelly said. He said that the company’s Internet-based sales grows by double digits each year. Now, the cash register is a computer terminal. If a customer wants an item that is not in the store, a sales associate can order it on the Internet and it will be delivered to the store, he said. While technology has changed, Connelly said that the typical customer also has changed during his career. “Our customer is a better shopper now — by necessity,” he said. “Customers’ time is more valuable to them.” While technology and customers have changed, Connelly said the basics of his business have not — customer service and ties to the community. 
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