Map Shows States to Be Hardest Hit by Forever 21 Store Closures
March 18, 2025
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Fast-fashion retailer Forever 21 has filed for bankruptcy and announced plans to shut down all of its remaining U.S. stores and website as part of the restructuring process.
On Sunday, the brand’s operating company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, marking the clothing retailer’s second bankruptcy filing in six years. In a statement, the company said it will be conducting an “orderly wind-down” of its U.S. operations, with liquidation sales of its stores taking place.
Why It Matters
Since opening in 1984, the company has been a major force in the fast-fashion industry, operating over 500 stores in the U.S. at its peak and employing over 43,000 people. Its decline underscores the wider challenges the retail sector faces, particularly with the rise of online competition from discount outlets like Shein and Temu.
While its international stores will be unaffected, the roughly 350 Forever 21 stores in the U.S. are set to close due to the winding down process, impacting the thousands of Americans still employed by the retailer.
What To Know
Forever 21’s operating company has blamed rising costs, changing consumer trends and “competition from foreign fast fashion companies” for its current difficulties.
Jamie Salter, CEO of Authentic Brands Group, the parent company and intellectual property owner of Forever 21, recently said that acquiring the retailer was “probably the biggest mistake I made,” adding that he didn’t anticipate players like Shein and Temu in the marketplace.
California, with 58 stores, will feel the biggest impact of the store closures, followed by Texas with 32 stores and Florida with 23.
What People Are Saying
Brad Sell, chief financial officer of Forever 21’s operating company, F21 OpCo: “While we have evaluated all options to best position the Company for the future, we have been unable to find a sustainable path forward, given competition from foreign fast fashion companies, which have been able to take advantage of the de minimis exemption to undercut our brand on pricing and margin, as well as rising costs, economic challenges impacting our core customers, and evolving consumer trends.
“As we move through the process, we will work diligently to minimize the impact on our employees, customers, vendors and other stakeholders.”
In a note shared with Newsweek, analysts at Creditsafe found that cash flow issues at Forever 21 “led to frequent late payments by Forever 21 to its suppliers” and that “outstanding bills were often up to 60 days late in the last 12 months.”
They wrote: “In May 2024, the number of outstanding bills that were 31-60 days past due nearly tripled from the previous month – rising to 39.07 percent in May 2024. By September 2024, 82.10 percent of the company’s outstanding bills were 1-30 days late. This dropped to 31.34 percent in November 2024 and then to 19.43 percent in December 2024. Several factors could be leading to this frequent pattern of overdue outstanding bills, including declining revenue, growing debt and store lease pressures.
What Happens Next
Forever 21 will continue operating its website while holding liquidation sales at its physical stores. According to F21 OpCo, Authentic Brands Group, which controls the brand’s international intellectual property, may license it to other operators as Forever 21 looks for potential buyers for some or all of its assets.
List of Forever 21 Locations
Certain cities have multiple stores; click on the location to view a complete list of Forever 21 stores in the area.
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