Forever 21
Forever 21, stylized as FOREVER 21, is an American fast fashion retailer headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Forever 21 began as the store called Fashion 21 with in Highland Park, Los Angeles, in 1984, and has grown into the clothing lines Forever 21, XXI Forever, Love 21 and Heritage with over 700 stores in the Americas, Asia, the Middle East and the UK. Forever 21 is known for its fashionable and trendy offerings with very low pricing, while it is an epitome of the rapidly-growing fast fashion industry. The company sells accessories, beauty products, home goods, and  clothing for women, men and children. The company has been involved in various controversies, ranging from labor practice issues to copyright infringement accusations to religion. History. Originally known as Fashion 21, the store was founded in Los Angeles on April 16, 1984 by husband and wife, Do Won Chang and Jin Sook Chang from South Korea. The store is located at 5637 N. Figueroa Street in the Highland Park district of Los Angeles and is still in operation, bearing the chain's original name. Designs similar to those seen in South Korea were sold to and targeted at the Los  Angeles Korean American community. In its first year in operation, sales totaled $700K and by 2013, there were more than 480 stores and revenue of $3.7 billion. Originally, Forever 21 only sold clothes for women but later expanded to sell menswear. Most Forever 21 stores now sell clothes for men and women, including plus size clothing for women. On its website, it also sells girls' clothing and home/lifestyle products. Forever 21's sales peaked in 2015, with $4.4 billion in global sales that year, and in 2017, Forever 21 generated a revenue of $3.4  billion. Global downfall. The global explosion in fast fashion competitors, reputation damage (caused by both labor rights groups and environmentalists), high cost rental locations, and competition from online retail led to a temporary collapse in global operations. In 2019, the company experienced a 32% drop in global sales forcing it into bankruptcy protection. Bankruptcy. In September 2019, Forever 21 filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company announced that it was ceasing operations in 40 countries and closing most of its international and 178 of its US stores, while aiming to allow mall operators and landlords to have a stake  in the company. The company plans to close most of its stores in Asia and Europe, and focus on the profitable core part of its operations in the US and Latin America. Linda Chang, executive vice president for the company, reported that filing for Chapter 11 is "an important and necessary step to secure the future of our Company, which will enable us to reorganize our business and reposition Forever 21." The company closed all of its Japanese stores at the end of October 2019, while all of its Canadian stores were closed at the end of November 2019. On  February 2, 2020, it was announced that Forever 21 had reached a deal to sell all of its assets for $81 million to a consortium of mall operators Simon Property Group and Brookfield Properties, and brand management firm Authentic Brands Group (ABG), subject to approval by a bankruptcy court judge. Following the purchase, ABG expanded Forever 21 in Latin America via licensing deals. In June 2020, ABG appointed IB Group as Forever 21's licensee in Mexico, and in October, it signed a licensing deal with AR Holdings to launch the brand in nine Latin American countries. Store count . Outside the United States, most of stores are franchised or, in some markets, operated in joint ventures with a local partners. The average store size is .