Duke and Duchess of Kent : Penney’s Promotion Gets Royal Send-Off

Trying to tone up its image, J. C. Penney reached abroad for the toniest of salesmen to ballyhoo a promotion at its department stores this week.

How tony? Well, British royalty--the Duke and Duchess of Kent, actually. Penney’s flew the royal pair to Los Angeles in a corporate jet to inaugurate its current “Best of Britain” sales campaign for clothing and household goods from 30 British firms.

The Duke, first cousin to Queen Elizabeth, also used the occasion in his capacity as vice chairman of the British Overseas Trade Board to sound a warning against protectionism and plug the sale of British goods from whisky to airplane engines.

The royal sales couple visited the Penney’s store at the Glendale Galleria on Thursday to inaugurate the promotion for British clothing and household goods. After being trotted through the customary schedule of gala events, including a dinner and fashion show at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, they returned to their London home Friday night aboard a commercial jet.

As two of the Crown’s top international salespeople, the Duke and Duchess have traveled widely promoting British goods and seeking to reduce barriers to foreign trade. They also are among the United Kingdom’s top-ranking cultural emissaries, publicizing British artistic exhibits and performances around the world. Beyond their royal stipend, they are not paid for these trips.

The Duke has had his unpaid job with the British Overseas Trade Board since 1976. His Royal Highness, a 51-year-old former career army officer, supports his family with a $154,000 a year stipend from the Queen as well as family business and real estate holdings.

The Duchess has had an unhappy experience in the world of business this year. She is one of about 100 “names,” or backers of Lloyd’s of London insurance syndicates, who stand to lose millions of dollars in an alleged fraud.

Speaking Friday at a luncheon sponsored by the British American Chamber of Commerce, the Duke warned that growing protectionist sentiment in the United States could have devastating effects on foreign trade.

“The outbreak of an international trade war would almost certainly spell a quite disastrous setback for the entire world economy. The lessons of history have shown time and time again that protectionism does nothing to advance the development of the world’s economy in the long run,” he said.

He also proudly noted that the Los Angeles Police Department had recently bought 300 “wheel clamps” from a British manufacturer. The devices, which immobilize illegally-parked cars, are better known in this country as the “Denver boot.”

Penney’s British promotion is part of an attempt to “reposition” the nation’s third-largest retailer. Penney’s, being undercut by discounters like K mart on one end of the consumption scale and out-glitzed by tonier establishments like Saks and Bloomingdale’s on the other, is trying to create a new image and attract a yuppier clientele.

To that end, they are moving out of “hard” goods--lawn mowers and such--and emphasizing softer and quieter items like women’s fashions. The majority of the British manufacturers represented in the current $50-million sale are makers of women’s clothing and domestic accessories, including Royal Doulton china. The British items are being offered at 500 of Penney’s 1,700 U.S. stores.

The Duke and Duchess arrived in Los Angeles on Wednesday night after kicking off the promotion at a Penney’s store near New York.

Asked if the Duke or Duchess bought anything during their visits to Penney’s, a consulate spokesman said tactfully: “Not on this occasion.”