Forever 21 Closing These Stores in Southern California

Forever 21 is preparing to potentially close hundreds of stores, including more than a dozen in Southern California, as part of its ongoing bankruptcy.

The Los Angeles-based apparel firm, hurt by plunging sales and competition from overseas e-commerce merchants, will make cuts across Los Angeles and Orange counties, the Orange County Register reported.

The pending closures come after the 41-year-old company locked the doors of its Downtown L.A. headquarters last month at the California Market Center at 110 East 9th Street, in the Fashion District.

After decades of family ownership, the retail chain was sold in 2020 to investors who now seek a new owner.

The company is preparing to close down its remaining 350 stories as part of its bankruptcy filing, according to Bloomberg, citing anonymous sources.

Efforts to find a buyer for the fast-fashion retailer to avoid a liquidation have so far failed, they said. Talks with one potential bidder are ongoing

Forever 21 reported to the state it would be closing eight stores across Southern California — but the closures appear to be more widespread, with hundreds of employees to hit the bricks, according to the Register.

The official closures include stores at the The Outlets at Orange, Main Place Mall in Santa Ana, Galleria at Tyler Mall in Riverside, Ontario Mills in Ontario, Victoria Gardens in Rancho Cucamonga, Montclair Place in Montclair, Lakewood Center Mall and at Los Cerritos Mall

The company said the layoffs and store closures are permanent, beginning April 25 and continuing through May 9, letters submitted to California’s Employment Development Department.

Readers of the Register also reported stores at Westfield Fashion Square in Sherman Oaks, The Shops at Santa Anita in Arcadia, South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, Promenade Temecula and Inland Center in San Bernardino had closing signs on their storefront windows.

The company, with 58 stores in California, announced in February that it would shutter at least 200 stores nationwide.

The retailer was founded in 1984 by husband and wife Do Won and Jin Sook Chang as Fashion 21, in Los Angeles, with its first store on Figueroa Street.

Renamed Forever 21, the chain grew into a nationwide brand known for its trendy and cheap clothing for teens and 20-somethings. At its peak in 2015, the company reported $4.4 billion in sales and 1,300 stores worldwide.

But over the years, the company faced numerous controversies, including accusations of wage theft, the use of cadmium in its jewelry, controversial slogans on T-shirts and the cheap labor used abroad to sew its clothing.

In 2020, its assets were sold in bankruptcy for $81 million to a group of investors that included Authentic Brands Group, Simon Properties and Brookfield Properties. That group, known as SPARC, owned retail brands including Lucky, Eddie Bauer, Aeropostale, Brooks Brothers and Nautica.

In January, SPARC said it was merging with JCPenney, creating a new group called Catalyst Brands, which left off Forever 21 from its list of brands. Instead, the company said it was seeking a new operator for the retailer.

Today, fast fashion in the U.S. has been overrun with competition from Chinese e-commerce companies such as Temu and Shein, which produce and sell items for pennies, according to the Register.

— Dana Bartholomew