Catalyst Brands Expands WorkJam Across Its Retail Portfolio, Bringing Frontline Operations and AI-Powered HR Support to Employees
Expansion builds on WorkJam’s success at JCPenney, extending the platform across Aéropostale, Brooks Brothers, Lucky Brand, and Nautica and launching AI-powered HR support for employees across Catalyst Brands.
MONTREAL, September 15, 2026 — WorkJam, the complete AI frontline operations platform, is expanding its partnership with legacy department store JCPenney, part of the Catalyst Brands portfolio.
The expansion will scale employee flexibility, engagement, and productivity across every brand in the Catalyst portfolio group, including Aéropostale, Brooks Brothers, Lucky Brand, and Nautica, and bring WorkJam’s platform to approximately 70,000 associates across North America.
„Serving millions of customers across our unmatched portfolio of iconic brands depends on creating a workforce that is connected, agile, and increasingly AI-enabled,“ said Andre Joyner, EVP and Chief Human Resources Officer for Catalyst Brands. „At Catalyst Brands, we believe the future of work will be defined by how thoughtfully organizations use technology to help associates perform at their best. Through our partnership with WorkJam, we’re embedding AI directly into the flow of work, giving associates faster access to needed information, reducing everyday friction, and creating more capacity for managers to lead their teams and serve customers. This expansion reflects our commitment to enabling our talented workforce while deploying AI responsibly and at scale, with the associate experience at the center of everything we do.“
As part of the expanded partnership, Catalyst Brands is also launching WorkJam’s AI Agent, bringing conversational, on-demand HR support to employees across all five brands directly within the WorkJam app. Employees can get answers to HR and benefits questions in their own words, in the moment, reducing the need to contact support centers or pull managers off the floor.
Because the AI Agent is built into the WorkJam platform, it can provide policy-based information while respecting the permissions and governance controls that apply to the WorkJam experience. Employees can access the capability through the same WorkJam experience they already use for everyday work, helping remove barriers to AI-powered HR support. Catalyst Brands plans to expand the AI Agent over time, extending it beyond HR support to help employees with everyday operational questions in the flow of work.
The expanded rollout of the WorkJam platform across the Catalyst Brands portfolio builds on the success of WorkJam’s partnership with JCPenney. The platform has improved store-level and supply chain associate engagement and retention with the legacy department store, and this next phase of the partnership will help bring WorkJam into the hands of about 70,000 associates, ensuring consistent execution, transparent communication, and agile scheduling across every retail banner. Since implementing WorkJam, employee referrals at JCPenney have increased manifold, reinforcing the company’s focus on employee engagement.
Thanks to WorkJam, associates can swap shifts, request time off, access training, get early access to earned wages, and stay connected from a single app on their mobile devices.
WorkJam’s Target Audience Engine delivers personalized communication and training targeted by role, location, shift, and certification, so associates receive the right information at the right time. The platform’s flexibility allows each Catalyst brand to tailor its use of features to unique operational needs while maintaining consistency and efficiency at scale.
„Catalyst is expanding WorkJam across all five brands because it’s delivering for their associates and the managers who lead them,“ said Steven Kramer, CEO of WorkJam. „As part of that, they’re putting AI directly in the hands of employees, starting with on-demand HR support, inside the same platform they already use to run their operations. This gives employees fast, conversational access to HR information where they work, while providing Catalyst with a foundation to expand AI-powered support across the frontline over time.“
About Catalyst Brands
Catalyst Brands ignites America’s most beloved retail brands to make fashion accessible to all. Our portfolio features legendary department store JCPenney, as well as iconic specialty retail brands Aéropostale, Brooks Brothers, Lucky Brand, and Nautica.
Established in 2025, when JCPenney and the former SPARC Group combined, Catalyst Brands today operates 1,800 retail stores, shop-in-shops, and eCommerce platforms throughout the U.S. and Canada. It also serves leading wholesale accounts in North America and beyond.
For more information, visit catalystbrands.com.
Media Contacts
WorkJam: Adam Hatch, media@workjam.com
