It appears Forever 21 won’t last forever

FOREVER 21 store in Governor’s Square Mall.
Photo courtesy FourSquare.com

From just a single location in Highland Park, Illinois, Forever 21 grew into a global phenomenon retail store. Every female has some sort of Forever 21 merchandise in their closet. Have you recently noticed the constant markdowns on clothing at every Forever 21 location? This is because Forever 21 may be on its way out.

For almost 40 years, Forever 21 has been the mecca retail store for teenagers and young adults, but recently, the chain’s success has been on a decline. There have been reports that it may  file for bankruptcy.

FAMU student Kayla Dennis gave her take on why the Forever 21 franchise is tanking. “I think that it is because of the easy access to shop online and people finding better clothing for cheaper prices. Also the store not innovating their fashion trends,” Dennis said.

Yahoo Finance revealed that Forever 21 has a handful of issues that are responsible for its current situation.

“For one, the store failed to attract consumers within the past years because they did not adapt to the change in fashion. They stuck to cheaply made and cheaply priced clothing. A second reason for closure is the option of ordering online and the irrelevance of going to the mall to shop. A third reason for the stores closing is stores like Walmart, TJ Maxx, and Target beginning to sell clothing at a better price and better quality than Forever 21.”

The Korean American couple Do Won Chang and Jin Sook Chang founded Forever 21 more than 30 years ago and were worth nearly $6 billion combined, according to businessinsider.com. Since the plunging of sales at the store, they have kissed their billionaire status goodbye.

Riley Rose is a beauty and lifestyle store created by the daughters of the Forever 21 owners. There are more than a dozen Riley Rose stores open worldwide, but the stores are closing at an even quicker rate that Forever 21. Just recently, Riley Rose closed its Tallahassee location in Governor’s Square Mall.

The Forever 21 general manager at Governor’s Square Mall declined to comment.

There has been a retail apocalypse over the past 10 years. Wet Seal, Charlotte Russe, Diesel, Payless, Gymboree, David’s Bridal, Claire’s, Nine West, and Rue 21 have all been victims of bankruptcies, according to CB Insights. Forever 21 may be the next retail victim.