The Week in Commerce Marketing — Retail, E-commerce and DTC: January 10, 2025 edition

Welcome to The Week in Commerce Marketing — Retail, E-commerce and DTC, a weekly roundup for marketers from Quad Insights.

JCPenney just announced a merger with SPARC Group to bring together six retail banners that “celebrate the essence of American style,” per a brand announcement. Catalyst Brands, as the new organization is called, joins SPARC Group brands Aéropostale, Brooks Brothers, Eddie Bauer, Lucky Brand and Nautica with JCPenney and its private labels, including Arizona and Liz Claiborne. Encompassing everything from casual apparel for teenagers to business and formal fashion attire, with 1,800 store locations as well as e-commerce sites, Catalyst Brands will span markets and customer segments — representing, as CNN Business’ Jordan Valinsky writes, “a gamble that combining the beleaguered brands will create a new powerhouse of mall staples … that also happen to have America’s largest mall operators as major financial backers.”

More retail operations and expansions:

• “Consortium Brand Partners acquires Jonathan Adler” (Retail Dive)
• “Giant Food introduces first-of-its-kind community space” (Grocery Dive)
• “Amazon Launches Advertising Service for Retailer Apps, Websites” (Retail TouchPoints)
• “Poshmark is teaming up with Loop to resell non-returnable items” (Modern Retail)
• “Instacart expanding ad reach in foodservice” (Grocery Dive)
• “DoorDash and Ibotta Team to Offer Savings on Everyday Purchases” (Progressive Grocer)
• “Target Democratizes Wellness with New Under $10 Assortment” (Retail TouchPoints)
• ICYMI: