According to a statement released Wednesday afternoon, JCPenney and Sparc Group, the owners of fashion labels like Lucky, Eddie Bauer, Aeropostale, Forever 21, and Brooks Brothers, have united to create a new business named Catalyst Brands.
According to the release, JCPenney and SPARC Group, along with its partners Simon Property Group, Brookfield Corp., Authentic Brands Group, and SheIn Group Ltd., created the joint venture through an all-equity transaction.
Marc Rosen, the former chief executive officer of JCPenney, will lead Catalyst.
According to the statement, Catalyst has 60,000 workers, 1,800 shop locations, $9 billion in revenue, and $1 billion in liquidity. According to its press release, Catalyst has sold its Reebok business in the US and is looking into strategic options for its Forever 21 business.
In February 2020, Authentic Brands acquired the Forever 21 brand name from bankruptcy and granted Sparc a license to use it across a network of over 500 locations, some of which were leased by Simon Property. The decision benefited both parties by maintaining mall occupancy and providing Authentic, the proprietor of numerous retail and lifestyle companies, with an additional source of revenue.
After declaring bankruptcy in 2020, JCPenney was purchased for $800 million by Simon Property and Brookfield Asset Management Inc., another mall owner.
