After a two-year partnership, fashion brand Joe Fresh announced that it will depart all U.S. J.C. Penney stores after their existing distribution agreement expires on Jan. 30, 2016.
Instead, Joe Fresh will focus on its own brick-and-mortar and e-Commerce stores, and will concentrate on international expansion. The brand plans to open stores in Mexico and Latin America this summer.
Joe Fresh and J.C. Penney began their partnership in March 2013, when the brand’s clothing appeared in approximately 700 J.C. Penney stores. However, the Joe Fresh brand presence has dwindled over the last two years, and now is available in only 200 locations.
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The partnership began under the direction of Ron Johnson, former CEO of J.C. Penney, and former Joe Fresh creative director Joe Mimran. Both executives no longer work at their respective companies, with Mimran most recently stepping down in March 2015.
Joe Fresh has six standalone stores in the New York City area, including a flagship location on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. Parent company Loblaw Companies Limited is reviewing five of the six Joe Fresh stores, planning to “exit some or all of them,” except for its SoHo location, according to Kevin Groh, Vice President of Corporate Affairs at Loblaw.
