J. C. Penney Company, Inc. is an up-scale chain of American department stores based in Plano, Texas, a suburb north of Dallas. The company operates 1,106 department stores in all 50 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. J. C. Penney also operates catalog sales merchant offices nationwide in many small markets.
J. C. Penney merchandise includes spanning family apparel, home furnishings, fine jewelry, footwear, accessories and beauty, wedding and gift registries, etc.
In addition to selling conventional merchandise, J. C. Penney stores often house several leased departments such as Sephora, Optical, Portrait Studios, Jewelry & Watch repair, etc.
J. C. Penney was founded by James Cash Penney and William Henry McManus. The original name for the store that started Penney in the dry goods business was The Golden Rule Store, owned by T. M. Callahan in Longmont, Colorado. It was later changed to J. C. Penney Company when it was sold in 1912 by T. M. Callahan to his protege, J. C. Penney. 
Today, most J. C. Penney stores are located in suburban shopping malls. Previously, most stores were located in downtown areas. As shopping malls became more popular in the latter half of the 20th century, J. C. Penney followed the trend by relocating its stores to anchor the malls.

Official website of J.C. Penney Company: http://www.jcp.com