Dive Brief:
- Catalyst Brands has tapped Michael Fernandez as its new chief wholesale and business development officer, per a Wednesday press release.
- Fernandez will report to Catalyst Brands CEO Marc Rosen and oversee all wholesale operations, in addition to being responsible for business-to-business, licensing and business development efforts across the brand portfolio.
- The executive brings over 20 years of retail experience to the company, most recently serving as chief commercial officer and chief merchandising officer at The Levy Group Inc.
Dive Insight:
The new executive appointment from Catalyst Brands is meant to bolster efforts to scale its retail and wholesale presence. The company’s brand portfolio includes department store J.C. Penney, as well as the labels Aéropostale, Brooks Brothers, Eddie Bauer, Lucky Brand and Nautica.
“We are excited to welcome Michael Fernandez as our new Chief Wholesale Officer,” Rosen said in a statement “Michael brings a wealth of strategic experience with specialty retail brands, which makes him uniquely well-positioned to drive our growth as we scale our retail and wholesale presence. His experience even working with some of Catalyst’s brands, and his ability to build significant retail relationships will be key as we continue working toward our mission of igniting America’s most beloved retail brands to make fashion accessible to all.”
Fernandez has held previous leadership positions at Perry Ellis International, where he worked on performance and lifestyle brands, including Perry Ellis and Nike Swim.
The appointment comes about eight months after Catalyst Brands was formed through the merger of J.C. Penney and Sparc Group. Sparc Group was a joint venture of brand firm Authentic Brands Group, e-retailer Shein and Simon Property Group.
In April, Catalyst Brands cut about 9% of its corporate roles — just a couple of months after axing about 250 people from the company.
Its retail brand portfolio was also once larger. The Sparc Group had included Reebok and Forever 21, but sold Reebok off to Galaxy Universal shortly after it combined into the new joint venture. Additionally, Forever 21’s U.S. operator filed for Chapter 11 in March, citing increased competition from Temu and Shein.
On Wednesday Authentic announced it has found new operators for Forever 21, which closed all stores as part of the bankruptcy. With that the brand is set to operate only online and via wholesale.
