WorkJam announces expansion of tie up across portfolio of JCPenney’s parent company Catalyst Brands
WorkJam, a frontline operations platform, is expanding its partnership with department store JCPenney, part of the Catalyst Brands portfolio. This covers every brand in the Catalyst portfolio group, including Aéropostale, Brooks Brothers, Lucky Brand, and Nautica, and brings 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,” says Andre Joyner, EVP and Chief Human Resources Officer at Catalyst Brands. "We believe the future of work will be defined by how thoughtfully organisations 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 centre 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 centres or pull managers off the floor. As 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.
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.
"Catalyst is expanding WorkJam across all five brands because it's delivering for their associates and the managers who lead them," says Steven Kramer, CEO at 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."
2026 RTIH Innovation Awards
AI will be a key focus area at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards.
The awards are now open for entries and celebrate global retail technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.
Our winners will be revealed at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards Ceremony, taking place at The HAC in Central London on Wednesday, 4th November.
Check out our 2025 winners here.
Our 2025 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The HAC on 16th October and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Tiff Stevenson.
In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “This is the awards’ fifth year as a physical event. We started off with just 30 people at the South Place Hotel not far from here, then moved to London Bridge Hotel, then The Barbican, and last year RIBA’s HQ in the West End.”
“But I’m conscious of the fact that, to quote the legend that is Taylor Swift, You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby. So, this year we’ve moved to our biggest venue yet, and also pulled in our largest number of entries to date and broken attendance records.”
He added: “This year’s submissions have without doubt been our best yet. To quote one of the judges: The examples of innovative developments across both traditional and digital retail spaces were truly remarkable.”
Congratulations to our winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Tiff Stevenson, and all those who attended our 2025 gathering.
