Forever 21 has officially filed for bankruptcy.
Forever 21 used to rule the fast fashion empire. The company is known for selling trendy clothing for cheap prices, and consumers were once all over their cheap deals. However, the once 4.4 billion dollar company is now closing up to 350 stores globally as well as cutting off operations in 40 countries.
The fall of Forever 21 is due to the decline of sales and the rise of e-commerce. Often referenced to as the “retail apocalypse”, many traditional brick-and-mortar stores have had to close due to the increase in e-commerce sales. Payless and Toys R Us are just two examples of some brick-and-mortar stores that have had to close stores and/or file for bankruptcy.
While Forever 21 has filed for bankruptcy, they are not completely closing up shop. They are closing some of their stores and making other stores smaller in size; however, they are still selling merchandise. They are having huge sales in-store and online. Forever 21’s Executive Vice President, Linda Chang, made a statement.
“This was an important and neccessary step to secure the future of our company, which will enable us to reorganize our business and reposition Forever 21” – Forever 21’s Executive Vice President, Linda Chang.
So what does this mean for Forever 21 employees? Forever 21 has made no comment on this topic as of yet; however, employees are already organizing worker protections. Similar to the many Toys R Us workers who fought for workers protection (and won), Forever 21 employees are following their footsteps to make sure they are given compensation.
Forever 21’s Executive Vice President, Linda Chang, made a statement saying the bankruptcy file was 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 possible comeback of Forever 21 is in the works.