Forever 21 Weighs Closing All Stores as Bankruptcy Looms
The brand could shutter its roughly 350 storefronts as part of its second bankruptcy in six years
By Nick Trombola March 14, 2025 1:20 pm
reprints
Turns out we can’t stay 21 indefinitely.
The company behind the Forever 21 fashion brand is reportedly considering shutting down its brick-and-mortar store operations ahead of an imminent bankruptcy filing, according to Bloomberg. The brand has roughly 350 storefronts worldwide, which could all be in jeopardy as the brand’s search for a buyer continues to flounder.
The bankruptcy filing would be the Los Angeles-based fast-fashion brand’s second in roughly six years. It last filed Chapter 11 in late 2019, driven at the time by over-expansion and the meteoric rise of e-commerce. The brand also closed nearly 200 of its 534 U.S. storefronts at the time.
sparc group, a gaggle of investors including Authentic Brands Group, Simon Property Group and Brookfield Property Partners — the latter two being the retailer’s biggest landlords — acquired Forever 21 in early 2020 in an $81 million deal, Commercial Observer reported at the time.
Sparc Group, which also owns Lucky Brand, Brooks Brothers, Eddie Bauer and others clothing lines, earlier this year merged with JCPenny to form Catalyst Brands. Yet Authentic, which owns Forever 21’s intellectual property and trademark, and licenses them to Catalyst, expects to continue licensing the brand to other retailers regardless of the result of a potential acquisition or bankruptcy liquidation, per Bloomberg.
A spokesperson for Authentic declined to comment.
Founded in L.A. in 1984 by South Korean immigrants Jin Sook Chang and Do Won Chang, Forever 21 at its peak operated more than 800 stores across the globe. But father time has apparently caught up with the self-proclaimed ageless retailer.
Despite Forever 21’s situation, and the many other retailers experiencing pain from the rise of e-commerce and the pandemic shutdowns, brick-and-mortar storefronts have experienced a rebound in recent years. Average monthly foot traffic reached over 80 percent of pre-pandemic levels by May of last year, according to a report by CBRE at the time, with a number of retailers reporting sales above those seen in 2019.
Investors such as Blackstone certainly seem to think that retail is a worthy investment. The firm last month absorbed Retail Opportunity Investment Corporation in a deal valued at $4 billion, taking on 93 properties that the real estate investment trust owned across the West Coast, including 30 in Southern California.
Nick Trombola can be reached at ntrombola@commercialobserver.com.
