Two major players in US retail are joining forces in the future.
On Thursday, JC Penney and Sparc Group announced their merger. Both companies have joined forces to form the Catalyst Brands joint venture, according to a statement. The shareholders of the new company are the previous owners of JC Penney and Sparc: Simon Property Group, Brookfield Corporation, Authentic Brands Group and Shein.
The new group combines the JC Penney retail chain and its own brands, which include Stafford, Arizona and Liz Claiborne, with the operational activities of the labels Aéropostale, Brooks Brothers, Eddie Bauer, Lucky Brand and Nautica, which were previously managed by the Sparc Group. The fashion and media group Authentic Brands Group LLC (ABG) continues to hold the intellectual property rights of these brands.
However, Catalyst Brands has sold the US business of the Reebok brand, which was previously also managed by Sparc. In addition, “strategic options” for the business activities of the textile chain Forever 21 are currently being examined.
The new trading group’s annual sales are more than nine billion US dollars
Following the merger, Catalyst Brands will have more than 1,800 stores and 60,000 employees. The combined annual sales of the brands united under the company’s umbrella amount to more than nine billion US dollars.
The company is led by Marc Rosen, the previous CEO of JC Penney. Former Walmart manager Kevin Harper has been named chief operating officer (COO) of Catalyst Brands. Marisa Thalberg, who has served as advisory chief brand and marketing officer at JC Penney since last fall, took over as chief customer and marketing officer.
Michelle Wlazlo, JC Penney’s former chief merchandising and supply chain officer, has been promoted to brand CEO of JC Penney. Natalie Levy will continue to manage the Aéropostale, Lucky Brand and Nautica brands, while Ken Ohashi will lead the Brooks Brothers and Eddie Bauer labels as brand CEO.