After a challenging year and outstanding payments owed to brands, the partnership between diversity-focused retailer Thirteen Lune and department store JCPenney has ended.
On May 5, a landing page for Thirteen Luneâs beauty selection on JCPenneyâs website was changed to the retailerâs larger beauty assortment. In a statement sent to The Business of Beauty, a media representative for JCPenney confirmed the news. âJCPenney is no longer working with Thirteen Lune and will continue to work directly with the brands that we have been carrying at JCPenney Beauty through our established vendor relationships.â
Thirteen Lune founder Nyakio Grieco declined to comment on the partnership, but said she is âexcited for Thirteen Luneâs next chapter.â
Following an acquisition by SNR Capital in 2024 through a bankruptcy alternative process, Grieco and SNRâs principals were sued by investors who alleged fraud and attempted to undo the sale. Griecoâs lawyer has called the case âfrivolousâ and said they will be fighting it. According to a source familiar with the matter, the JCPenney partnership ended âsoonâ after the lawsuit was filed in March 2025.
The partnership, which launched in 2021, expanded Thirteen Lune shops to 609 JCPenney locations. At its height, 70 brands filled the assortment. The number of brands eventually decreased to fewer than 40. The agreement was restructured in 2024 in a âmutual decision to change our working relationship such that JCPenney purchases directly from the brands,â according to a JCPenney statement.
Learn more:
Investors Sue Thirteen Lune Founder for Alleged Fraud and Embezzlement
Two of the beauty retailerâs investors have accused the entrepreneur of misappropriating nearly $200,000 and using a recent acquisition to wipe out shareholder equity in a California lawsuit.