Forever 21 has become the latest once-loved brand to close its doors following “competition from foreign fast fashion companies” including Temu and Shein, with its weak online presence failing to help matters either.
By 1 May, all of Forever 21’s 354 US stores had closed, though some began pulling down the shutters for the last time a month earlier. Forever 21 stopped accepting gift cards and store credit on 15 April. Refunds and exchanges are also no longer available.
While all US stores would be shutting, a notice on the retailer’s website revealed that international stores would remain open.
“In connection with the filing, we are beginning the process of closing a number of stores across the US. Importantly, however, our stores will remain open for the time being and we will continue to fulfil customer orders placed online. We also will continue to honour customer gift cards and store credit through and including April 15, 2025. All sales both in US stores and the US website are now final. Accordingly, we will no longer be accepting returns or exchanges. Additionally, at this point, we are no longer offering new gift cards or credit cards,” said the statement.
In documents supporting its bankruptcy filing, “competition from foreign fast fashion companies,” rising costs, economic challenges and evolving consumer trends, were cited as reasons for Forever 21’s failing.
“The problem was, Shein and Temu became the fundamental leaders of fast fashion,” Ilse Metchek, former president of the California Fashion Association told the Los Angeles Times. “There was no way that the prices in Forever 21, given that they have to pay rent, would match the prices that were online”.
Metchek added that Forever 21 didn’t invest enough in advertising and online merchandising. It also failed to build relationships with influencers who could attract young shoppers on social media.
Aiyana Veiga, CEO of My Unbounded Digital Marketing Agency, also cited one of the reasons for Forever 21’s downfall as its weak influencer and brand ambassador marketing in a post shared on LinkedIn.
The rise in inflation rates beginning in 2021 led to a significant increase in F21 OpCo’s cost of operations, including the cost of inventory, distribution, transportation and employee wages, Stephen Coulombe, co-chief restructuring officer of F21 OpCo, said in a court document supporting the bankruptcy filing.
A “highly competitive retail environment” also hurt Forever 21, most notably the de minimis exemption, which exempts goods valued under $800 from import duties and tariffs, according to Coulombe.
Saturday Night Live weighed in on the news with a spoof of the retailer, calling it ‘Forever 31’ in a parody that takes a gentle jab at millennial fashion.
The faux advertisement, which aired during the 4 May episode hosted by Quinta Brunson, shows a clothing brand like Forever 21 built for “stylish women who are kinda tired”.
Brunson, along with SNL regulars Chloe Fineman, Heidi Gardner, Ego Nwodim, and Sarah Sherman, are seen in the sketch in ensembles that lean more “art teacher in winter” than “mall brand influencer”. Trench coats, oversized suiting, and mood-toned basics dominate the collection, delivered in what the skit calls “every color of the bummer rainbow”. Diane Keaton’s signature blazers and the oversized fits from the Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense era are also referenced.
Forever 31 pic.twitter.com/bhGfCxY5e5
— Saturday Night Live – SNL (@nbcsnl) May 4, 2025
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In the 1990s and 2000s, the brand became popular among teenagers looking for stylish clothing. However, it ignored that its core clientele preferred online shopping, with malls quietly withering away over the past 10 years. Slowly, the company’s problems began to show.
Forever 21 filed for Chapter 11 protection in 2019 due to being in danger of going bankrupt. However, the fashion retailer was spared when brand licensing company Authentic Brands Group teamed up with real estate developers Simon Property Group and Brookfield Corporation.
The three companies bought Forever 21 to prevent the chain from closing. However, Jamie Salter, CEO of Authentic Brands, said two years ago that purchasing the brand was a financial mistake.
F21 OpCo said in March of this year that if a buyer were to express interest in the brand, store closures would pause. But as of 30 April, a potential buyer had not been found.
The closing of Forever 21 might bring some readers back to the days of Topshop, which saw the closure of businesses in the UK during the pandemic accelerate the end of Topshop’s life.
Millions of shoppers were forced to embrace online shopping with the closure of non-essential stores. Adding to it, Topshop’s younger demographic was already living online.
While online retailers were emailing and texting their customers with offers and making personal connections through social media presence, Topshop was still decorating train station billboards.
Forever 21’s closure points to the need for brands to shift with the times. As we see brand presence increasingly ground itself in social media, other retailers emerging from the same era as Forever 21 would do well to reflect on their ability to connect with a rapidly transforming consumer base.
