Forever 21 is no longer forever young; it is now forever out of business. However, Forever 21 is not the only company struggling; retail stores across the country are experiencing similar hardships due to society’s shift towards online shopping. The convenience of online shopping is undeniable, and larger retail stores like Forever 21, simply can’t keep up anymore.
Forever 21 was founded in 1984 by husband and wife Do Won Chang and Jin Sook Chang. It started as a small store in Los Angeles, California, and was initially named “Fashion 21.” Their small business quickly took off and continued to grow to a peak revenue of 4.1 billion dollars in 2015 with 800 stores globally.
Fast fashion companies like H&M, Zara, and Forever 21 thrived during the 1990’s into the 2010’s. However, in September of 2019, Forever 21 filed for bankruptcy for the first time, and now, on March 17 of 2025, it filed for bankruptcy again. Ultimately, Forever 21 has announced that it will officially be closing all 350 remaining U.S. stores.
Customers nationwide, including Glen Rock students, were incredibly surprised by Forever 21’s closing. Sophomore Samantha Schassberger said, “When I saw the closing sign in the mall window, I was shocked. I love going to Forever 21 and seeing their collaborations with other brands. It will be so weird not seeing them in the Garden State Mall anymore.” Sophomore Sia Parekh, elaborated, shared, “When I found out Forever 21 was shutting down, I was stunned. It has always been a fairly popular brand and the possibility of them shutting down never really crossed my mind.”
Customers are wondering what exactly went wrong: how could this successful, billion-dollar clothing company, which has been around for 40 decades, be filing for bankruptcy for the second time in the past 6 years? Some believe that as Forever 21 grew bigger, the company bit off more than it could chew in uncharted territory. Many feel they lost customers to online clothing companies like Shein and Temu. Others think that fast fashion simply isn’t as popular as it used to be, especially considering its negative environmental impact.
Forever 21 was a recent retail store to go out of business, but it surely will not be the last. Many other retail stores are struggling as well, including Macy’s, Big Lots, Party City, Joanns Fabric, Kohl’s, JCPenny, Dollar General, Walgreens, Neiman Marcus, Sears, Footlocker, Lord and Taylor, Nordstrom, Banana Republic, GameStop, and GAP.
Retail stores across the country are suffering financially and will continue to go out of business based on the recent trends seen so far. Forever 21 was just one example of what the economy looks like for retail stores right now, but many other companies are in similar situations. As more shoppers switch to online shopping, more traditional retail stores will continue to suffer unless these companies find a way to adapt.
