JCPenney has weathered a bankruptcy, store closings and a CEO straight out of Silicon Valley — all followed by continual revenue declines. Now, the storied company is getting another shot at rebirth.

The 650-location department store chain has joined forces with the company behind names such as Eddie Bauer and Aéropostale to create a company called Catalyst Brands. It will be based in Plano, Texas, and led by Marc Rosen, former head of JCPenney.

This new path comes after several attempts by JCPenney to reinvent itself over the past decades. While once seen as a top player, its sales have been eroded by online retailers, younger brands and big-box companies.

JCPenney under the Catalyst Brands umbrella is looking to get stronger with scale as it leverages complementary strengths that cover key retail areas, such as product design, sourcing and new technology tools. It could mean changes to how and where items are sold and even new store formats, according to Rosen in an emailed statement.

The tricky part is making it work. These brands face clear challenges such as pressure from rivals and changing consumer tastes.

“The real question is, ‘OK, what are they going to do now?’ ” said Katherine Black, a partner at global strategy and management consulting firm Kearney who leads food, drug and mass market retail. “If they build the right platform for getting those brands to outpace their growth, then they’ve got a really interesting story.”

That could be harder for JCPenney, Black said, as department stores have seen particular challenges. Macy’s recently announced store closures, for example, as it looks to improve its prospects.

Varied brands

The new company — a tie-up with Sparc Group — has a diverse set of brands with a broad set of target customers.

Brooks Brothers offers options for shoppers looking for something more formal while Aéropostale appeals to teens and young adults. Lucky’s roots are premium denim along with what it calls “Americana and self-expression.” Eddie Bauer and Nautica stir thoughts around the outdoors. JCPenney? Think “everyday style for every family.”

It’s not entirely clear how all the brands could be used together. Rosen said the company details are coming together, but the range of products will be available in more places for more people, more easily.

“We can imagine opportunities like brand pop-up shops inside JCPenney stores, for example, or opportunities to take brands that have been exclusive to JCPenney, like Liz Claiborne or Arizona, and extend their reach through wholesale,” Rosen said in the email. “We’re also thinking through aspects like shared loyalty programs and credit cards that will make the customer experience more rewarding. And, of course, we also have our eye toward innovation — such as testing new store formats — all with the customers in mind.”

These brands have faced challenges for many years. Eddie Bauer and Aéropostale were among the more popular mall brands in the 1990s and 2000s, but have since lost traction with shoppers. Amid the challenges of COVID-19 for physical retail, Lucky Brand and Brooks Brothers were among those that filed for bankruptcy.

Challenges

JCPenney has come off a quarterly report with mixed results. Net sales fell 8%, a slight improvement from earlier in the year, while the department store chain posted an operating profit in the recent period. Foot traffic improved, and it benefitted from new promotions. It had net sales of roughly $7 billion in its last fiscal year that ended Feb. 3, 2024, less than half of its sales a decade ago.

This is the latest in many turnaround efforts. A key moment came in 2011, when Apple stores guru Ron Johnson arrived as CEO. His tenure saw challenges in ways it would never recover, including billions in lost revenue amid changes in pricing strategies and store designs. Three more CEOs during the 2010s couldn’t return JCPenney to its former sales levels as it racked up net losses.

In 2023, JCPenney ranked No. 63 based on annual sales in a National Retail Federation report. Two players in the top 10 have been growing rivals for JCPenney’s customer base.

“Where is that shopper going?” said Ray Wimer, professor of retail practice at Syracuse University. “If you look, you look at Walmart and Target, that’s where they’re going.”

Target has long been a known player in the apparel market. Walmart in particular has invested recently in clothing, Wimer said, and it’s not going to be easy to get back market share.

“It’s a really tough environment,” Wimer said.

Rosen, who joined JCPenney in 2021, said retail has always been a dynamic industry and keeping pace with customer needs and interests is key.

“With Catalyst Brands, we’re bringing together a unique proposition of iconic brands with strong momentum that we can accelerate, further and faster, together,” Rosen said in the statement. “Our combined scale and resources let us invest in their growth.”

Catalyst Brands launches with combined sales of more than $9 billion and 1,800 store locations.

Prior to Catalyst Brands’ creation, there already were some connections. JCPenney was owned by Simon, Brookfield and Authentic. Sparc is a partnership between Simon, Authentic and Shein. Simon and Brookfield are both key mall companies where these brands often reside.

Scaling up

More heft could help with Catalyst Brands. It delivers bigger customer numbers, and that can power technology. The company pointed to data-driven and AI efforts to enhance its supply chain and inventory management capabilities — and, importantly, to deepen consumer relationships.