By Dean Seal
JCPenney has merged with Sparc Group, the owner of brands including Aéropostale and Brooks Brothers, to form a new apparel powerhouse called Catalyst Brands.
The department store chain said Wednesday that the all-equity merger brings its banner and various exclusive private brands under the same umbrella as Sparc's portfolio, which also includes Eddie Bauer, Lucky Brand and Nautica.
Catalyst Brands is launching with more than 1,800 store locations, 60,000 employees and $1 billion in liquidity, JCPenney and Sparc said.
JCPenney Chief Executive Marc Rosen is set to helm the new company, which will be headquartered at JCPenney's current corporate location of Plano, Texas. Former Walmart retail executive Kevin Harper has been hired as chief operating officer and Marisa Thalberg, previously JCPenney's consulting chief marketing and brand officer, will serve as Catalyst's chief customer and marketing officer.
Catalyst will operate as a joint venture between JCPenney and Sparc, or Simon Properties Authentic Retail Concepts, a strategic partnership between Simon Property Group, Brookfield Corporation, Authentic Brands Group and Shein.
JCPenney was acquired by Simon Property and Brookfield for $800 million in 2020 after the retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protections that year.
Catalyst said Tuesday that it has sold the U.S. operations of Reebok, a subsidiary of Authentic Brands, and is exploring strategic options for Forever 21, the retailer operated by Authentic Brands and Simon Property.
The merger doesn't impact the intellectual property owned by Authentic Brands, which Sparc licenses.
Write to Dean Seal at dean.seal@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 08, 2025 17:29 ET (22:29 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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