When I first heard that JC Penney was opening a store in New York’s Herald Square, I scratched my head in wonderment. This was my grandma’s department store, vying for a small piece of success in the historic heartland of Macy’s and Gimbels. My first thought was, “They’ll get eaten alive.”

But I’ve been wrong before.

Today’s story on NPR’s “Morning Edition” about the new Herald Square store made me think that JC Penney just may have some things going for it, not the least of which is their commitment to serve the typical Manhattanite’s “need for speed.”

New York just seems to be a very fast-paced city, and everyone is kind of over-planned out,” says Jeff Bank, CEO of Alicart, which owns the New York restaurants Gabriela’s, Carmine’s, and Artie’s.

“Speed is essential,” he says. Customers “want to get to where they’re going. They’re going to their show, or they’re going to catch a bus.”

Fast service is “very important” to New York shoppers like Clare Posnack, who was sweeping through Penney’s early one afternoon last week.

“I have very little time to shop, and I’m on a lunch hour, so I want to do everything as fast as possible,” she said.

What does she do when she goes to a store and service is slow?

“I leave,” she said tersely.”

JC Penney obviously did its homework before the grand opening.  Placing a priority on efficiency, the company:

• Built 8 dressing room areas with 63 stalls, all fully-staffed
• Created a warehouse system (based in Connecticut) that makes a steady stream of store deliveries
• Developed an electronic customer queuing system for smooth transactions
• Stores extra cash registers that can easily be swapped out if one breaks down

If JC Penney can match the quality and style of its products with this level of service, the company’s bold move could prove to have a big payoff.  The company was flexible enough to address the specific needs of a geographic region and in the end (if they’re smart), can apply what they’ve learned through this new business model to more urban stores in the future.

It is New York, after all – if they can make it there, they can make it anywhere.