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Catalyst Brands — the operating company for J.C. Penney and several of its private labels plus some brands whose IP is owned by brand firm Authentic Brands Group — is cutting about 9% of its corporate roles, the company confirmed Thursday.
The business, formed in January, is a joint venture of J.C. Penney and an operating entity previously known as Sparc Group, which ran Aéropostale, Brooks Brothers, Eddie Bauer, Lucky Brand and Nautica, as well as Reebok and Forever 21. Catalyst shareholders include Simon, Brookfield Corporation, Authentic and Shein, with Marc Rosen, formerly chief executive officer of J.C. Penney, as CEO. Catalyst immediately sold Reebok to Galaxy Universal and announced it was exploring strategic options for Forever 21.
The latter hasn’t been fruitful: Last month the fast-fashion retailer’s U.S. operations filed for bankruptcy. Forever 21 has been a thorn in Authentic’s side, with CEO Jamie Salter saying last year that acquiring the brand was “probably the biggest mistake I made.”
A Catalyst spokesperson didn’t immediately return a question about how many people are affected by the latest cuts, which come less than two months after the company laid off 5% of the corporate workforce, or about 250 people.
At that point Catalyst said that “after careful review of the entire organization” it had identified areas to streamline. On Thursday a spokesperson said the company “is in the early stages of our integration” and that a “continued review of the entire organization, across all business units,” helped identify further areas of optimization in structure and roles.
“We appreciate the contributions of all affected associates and are committed to supporting them with transition resources, including severance and benefits,” the spokesperson said by email Thursday. “While these are difficult choices, we are confident they will ultimately position us to better serve our customers and deliver on our mission to give them high quality products at exceptional value for every moment in life.”
These entities have forged and sometimes dismantled various partnerships over the years.
Sparc shareholders included Simon, Authentic and Shein, for example. A little over four years ago, Simon and Brookfield bought J.C. Penney out of bankruptcy and Authentic later also invested in the department store chain. Simon, Brookfield and Authentic bought Forever 21 out of bankruptcy in 2020 for $81 million; Brookfield sold off its interest the following year. Simon once owned a stake in Authentic but divested of that last year. Shein and Forever 21 forged a distribution deal in 2023, though Forever 21 cited competition from the ultra-fast fashion e-retailer and its rival Temu as a factor in its struggles.
