EXHIBIT 21


                         SUBSIDIARIES OF THE REGISTRANT
                         ------------------------------


     Set forth below is a list of certain direct and indirect subsidiaries of
the Company as of April 1, 2003. All of the voting securities of each named
subsidiary are owned by the Company or by another subsidiary of the Company.

SUBSIDIARIES
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     Eckerd Corporation (Delaware)
     J. C. Penney Corporation, Inc. (Delaware)

     Separate financial statements are filed for J. C. Penney Funding
Corporation, which is a consolidated subsidiary, in a separate Annual Report on
Form 10-K.

     The names of other subsidiaries have been omitted because these unnamed
subsidiaries, considered in the aggregate as a single subsidiary, do not
constitute a significant subsidiary.