JCPenney merges with Forever 21’s parent business Sparc throng to make recent entity

The parent business of fashion retailer Forever 21 has merged with JCPenney to form a brand recent business called Catalyst Brands.

Sparc throng, which is also over the brands Aéropostale, Brooks Brothers, Eddie Bauer, Lucky Brand, and Nautica, announced the union on Thursday with JCPenney and the department store chain’s exclusive private brands, including Stafford, Arizona, and Liz Claiborne.

“Catalyst Brands brings together the wealthy heritage of six distinctive brands with modern vigor and a recent imagination for achievement. The word ‘catalyst’ reflects our drive to accelerate innovation and vigor and amplify the impact of this powerhouse holdings. Together, we bring scale, expertise, and broad appeal to customers across America,” Marc Rosen, the former CEO of JCPenney and recent CEO of Catalyst Brands said in a information release.

Catalyst Brands is launching with more than $9 billion of turnover, 1,800 store locations, 60,000 employees and $1 billion of ability to pay, the business said. Other shareholders a part of the joint assignment include shopping malls owner, Simon Property throng; global resource firm, Brookfield Corporation; brand management business, Authentic Brands throng; and clothing retail business, Shein, according to the release.

In addition to the union, Catalyst Brands said it sold the U.S. operations of footwear and clothing brand Reebok and is “exploring strategic options for the operations of Forever 21.”

union:Getty Images, Shutterstock consent to merge in $3.7 billion deal. Here’s what to recognize.

JCPenney filed for insolvency, Forever 21 was bought out of insolvency in 2020

Authentic Brands, which owns more than 50 customer brands and the likeness rights or estates of celebrities such as Muhammad Ali, Elvis Presley, and Marilyn Monroe, bought Forever 21 out of insolvency in February 2020, Bloomberg reported. The business then licensed it to Sparc to run through a fleet of around 500 stores, some of which were leased by Simon Property, the outlet said.

JCPenney filed for insolvency protection in 2020 and was bought by Simon Property and Brookfield resource Management Inc., another shopping mall owner, for $800 million, according to Bloomberg.

Who will navigator Catalyst Brands? Where will it be headquartered?

Catalyst Brands will be headquartered at JCPenney’s corporate location in Plano, Texas, while the business will have additional offices in recent York, Los Angeles and Seattle, the release reads.

With Rosen becoming the CEO of Catalyst Brands, there will be three brand recent CEOs who will oversee the business’s holdings and update to him.

The business also said it plans to use data-driven and AI technology to “enhance its supply chain and inventory management capabilities and to deepen customer relationships.”

“Our relationships with more than 60 million customers and the deep data we have make a compelling customer worth proposition across our brands. We can design a more personalized shopping encounter, propose unified loyalty and capital card programs, and ultimately, cross-sell more effectively. That’s one example of the many benefits we’ll view in this combination,” Rosen said.

Jonathan Limehouse covers breaking and trending information for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected].