J.C. Penney Now Part of New Company, Catalyst Brands

J.C. Penney is merging with Sparc Group—a management company that owns such once-dominant retailers as Aéropostale, Brooks Brothers, and Eddie Bauer—to form Catalyst Brands.

Sparc has run the operations of those three retailers under license from Authentic Brands Group. It also handles operations for Forever 21, but said in a statement that it plans to sell that business.

Sparc’s owners include Authentic Brands, mall operators Simon Property Group and Brookfield Corporation, and Chinese e-tailer Shein. They will continue as owners of Catalyst.

Simon, Brookfield, and Authentic bought J.C. Penney after it filed for Chapter 11 in 2020. Analysts suggested that the shopping center owners hoped to save the more than 100-year-old Penney chain because it was a significant mall “anchor tenant.”

Marc Rosen, who has been CEO of J.C. Penney since 2021, has become CEO of Catalyst and will oversee its portfolio.

Michelle Wlazlo, formerly J.C. Penney’s chief merchandising and supply chain officer, is now the department store’s CEO. Natalie Levy remains brand CEO of Aéropostale, Lucky, and Nautica. Ken Ohashi continues as CEO Brooks Brothers and will also lead Eddie Bauer. They all report to Rosen.

Kevin Harper, a former senior vice president of Walmart, has joined Catalyst Brands as chief operating officer. Marisa Thalberg, previously the consulting chief marketing and brand officer at J.C. Penney, has become Catalyst’s chief customer and marketing officer.

Catalyst begins with $9 billion in revenue, 1,800 stores and 60,000 employees, according to a statement.

The new company has “scale, expertise and broad appeal” as well as a “clean balance sheet,” Rosen said in the statement.

Catalyst Brands is headquartered at J.C. Penney’s corporate location in Plano, Texas, with offices in New York, Los Angeles, and Seattle.