JCPenney, SPARC Group Merge To Form Catalyst Brands
JCPenney and the SPARC Group of retail brands are joining forces to form Catalyst Brands.
The new conglomerate brings together SPARC brands Aéropostale, Brooks Brothers, Eddie Bauer, Lucky Brand, and Nautica with JCPenney and its exclusive private brands, including Stafford, Arizona, and Liz Claiborne.
Catalyst Brands launches with more than $9 billion of revenue, 1,800 store locations, 60,000 employees, and $1 billion of liquidity and is poised to generate significant strategic and operational value. The combined Catalyst Brands organization is a joint venture formed in an all-equity transaction between JCPenney and SPARC Group, with shareholders Simon Property Group, Brookfield Corporation, Authentic Brands Group, and Shein.
Marc Rosen, former CEO of JCPenney, has become CEO of Catalyst Brands. Three brand CEOs will oversee the portfolio and report to Rosen. Michelle Wlazlo, formerly the chief merchandising and supply chain officer of JCPenney, has been promoted to Brand CEO of JCPenney. Natalie Levy continues her role as Brand CEO of Aéropostale, Lucky Brand, and Nautica, and Ken Ohashi will continue leading Brooks Brothers and has assumed responsibility of Eddie Bauer in his new role as Brand CEO of both brands.
Kevin Harper, formerly an executive with Walmart, will join Catalyst Brands as chief operating officer. Marisa Thalberg, formerly the consulting chief marketing and brand officer of JCPenney, has become the chief customer and marketing officer of Catalyst Brands. Additional leadership appointments can be found here.
“Catalyst Brands brings together the rich heritage of six unique brands with modern energy and a new vision for success,” said Rosen. “The word ‘catalyst’ reflects our drive to accelerate innovation and energy and amplify the impact of this powerhouse portfolio. Together, we bring scale, expertise, and broad appeal to customers across America,”
Catalyst Brands has sold the U.S. operations of Reebok and is exploring strategic options for the operations of Forever 21.
Officials with Catalyst Brands said the new company will integrate complementary strengths, including strong product design and sourcing capabilities, deep supplier relationships and a growing use of data-driven and AI technology to enhance its supply chain and inventory management capabilities and to deepen consumer relationships.
“Our relationships with more than 60 million customers and the deep data we have create a compelling consumer value proposition across our brands,” said Rosen. “We can design a more personalized shopping experience, offer unified loyalty and credit card programs, and ultimately, cross-sell more effectively. That’s one example of the many benefits we’ll see in this combination. With a clean balance sheet, we’re in great position to move forward.”
Catalyst Brands is headquartered at the current corporate location of JCPenney in Plano, Tex., with offices in New York, Los Angeles and Seattle.
