JCPenney is merging with a company that owns a number of other once-bankrupt clothing stores, including Forever 21 and Brooks Brothers, to form a new company that will hold significant sway over the future of America’s malls.

The department store chain is teaming up with the Sparc Group in an all-equity merger to form Catalyst Brands, the Wall Street Journal reported. The company will be led by Marc Rosen, who most recently served as the chief executive officer of JCPenney. It will be based in Plano, Texas, where JCPenney is headquartered.

JCPenney is merging with a company that owns several other retailers that have also struggled as malls have declined in popularity across the U.S. The 123-year-old department store chain and SPARC Group have combined to form Catalyst Brands,

Sparc was formed in 2016 by Simon, Brookfield and Authentic Brands Group, and fast fashion retailer Shein was brought in as a minority owner in 2023.

JCPenney is combining with the owner of fellow shopping mall staples Aéropostale and Lucky Brand after a merger of two brand portfolios in an all-equity transaction Wednesday.

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JCPenney has merged with the owner of several retail brands to create a brand new company. On Jan. 8, JCPenney merged with SPARC Group, the owner of the following companies: Through the merger, JCPenney and SPARC Group created Catalyst Brands.

JCPenney announced Thursday the company merged with SPARC Group, to form a larger retail organization called Catalyst Brands.