The Decline of Forever 21...What Happened?

One of the country's biggest clothing stores has fallen on some tough times. This video talks about why Forever 21 has been having so much trouble.

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Company Declines:
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[obennett]

They should've focused on selling more of the basics, kinda like H&M. It never fails, you see a shirt you like, go to turn it around and there's a huge obnoxious graphic on the back.

[JoshuaAndrewMusic]

I think Forever 21 dropped the ball with not expanding more into the mens market. Every F21 I would go into would only have a tiny section for men, where as H&M has a giant mens section. Also H&M had more styles and more basic streetwear, where as Forever21 clothing always seemed like knock off apparel from other stores and had giant logos and graphics on it.

[WWEFAN]

Ironically I saw a forever 21 store that has those “everything must go” signs. But they also have a “we’re hiring sign” too

[Thinking_Business]

I’d argue that one of the main factors behind Forever 21’s decline was that it totally missed the boat on e-commerce.
For a company whose core consumer base is young millennials, it always baffled me that they missed consumers shifting preferences to online shopping. Most incumbents like Forever 21, Abercrombie & Fitch, Urban Outfitters, and American Appeal pretty much let newcomers like ASOS or Fashion Nova, whose entire business model is online, enjoy that first-mover advantage and just grab market share.

It just goes to show how destructive complacency can be in business.

[soogymoogi]

Last time I went into a Forever 21, the quality of the clothes was basically at the level of Fashionnova, shien, or god forbid Wish, which are all cheaper. I think Chinese fast fashion online shopping hurt them a lot.

[LittleMissRockChalk]

I used to shop at F21 when I was in college and didn't have much disposable income. I stopped shopping there around my mid to late 20s or so...everything just seemed so cheap and unsustainable. I still love shopping at brick-and-mortar stores, but I avoid F21 because everything is so cheaply made, and plus the stores are always a mess.

[Bridgetthill]

Malls dying and the rise of Amazon and other online shopping sites is going to be the downfall of almost all mall brands. These companies won’t expand to online shopping while simultaneously shutting down their in person stores. I have a feeling we will be seeing more of this along with bigger companies too in the coming years/decade. I’m

[JDoors]

I would never give Forever 21 a second glance, I'm nowhere near their demographic, but this is one of the most interesting case studies you've made yet. Interesting because it "could have" turned out so much better for so many reasons. Control, expansion both geographically and store sizing, betting on malls for too long, expansion overseas, it seemed like if they had outside counsel SOMEBODY could have steered the ship better.

[Happylilcinnamaroll]

Damn, I didn’t know all the controversies. For me it’s the lack of quality, and the messy and poor presentation in stores. When I was a pre-teen and in my early teen years, I enjoyed going there for the cheap prices and if it weren’t for the bad quality and ripped off designs I might still as an adult but it doesn’t appeal to me anymore. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[SnyToprano]

Forever 21 literally looks like a lower quality, same price H & M. Which is an achievement.

[sadiejay_]

I'd say being hostile to the workers and the customers would be a part of their downfall. Even if they had gotten into the online store space earlier, it wouldn't have made much a difference because of the strict "no returns" policy. They wouldn't give money back unless you spoke to the manager's manager for whatever reason lol

Then working there was messy, as with all fast fashion stores it seems, stingy on break policies, minimum wages, laughable "raises" if it ever happened, 10% discount barely covered tax. It was a staple in my wardrobe for a while, but working there ruined it for me. Along with the knowledge of fast fashion in general, but that's a different story lol

[xSouthWindx]

Seems like all brands/retailers that market themselves as:
1: "trendy"
And
2: primarily for young teens

Eventually decline. The marketplace for that demographic is a revolving door where every new brand in the space makes the existing brands less "hip".

It's a very tough space to hold market share/continuously grow for more than 5-10 years

[MrDemonsushii]

As a forever 21 employee, it’s surreal to see you making a video about this. But really, the company did this to themselves. Fast fashion itself is ironically out of fashion these days.

All the same, great vid as always!

[makingtechsense]

I did some work for them as a consultant several years ago. The number of lawsuits that they were experiencing was unbelievable. As the video stated, they had a culture of blatantly breaking copyright law by constantly copying designer clothing and accessories.

[NostalgicNell]

I worked at a Forever 21 roughly ten years ago when I was in my early 20s. It was a fun temporary job and I made a few friends but the boss always has a stick up her butt. The quality of the clothes are hit and miss, you CAN find some good items if you pay attention to the material and stitching. But please, for the love of God, WASH YOUR CLOTHES BEFORE YOU WEAR THEM. We would have "overnight parties" where we would come in in our PJs and just sit on the floor and put on security tags. Every single item at Forever 21 has been on the floor, essentially used as a dust mop.

I did fitting room a lot and was doing "detailing" (buttons, zippers, etc so it can go back on the floor) reached into a jacket pocket only to find WET underwear. Stuff like that did not go back onto the floor.. it was damaged out.

[anadaisy]

I shopped here for most of high school, the last time I actually bought anything from forever 21 was 2018 right before my birthday, I was searching for an outfit to wear for my senior pictures and I found two outfits I absolutely loved, the most frustrating thing I experienced was definitely the lack of quality with my clothes, sometimes I’d spend so much time and money on something I’d wear once or not at all, their leggings were always see through and the fabric never seemed to be the same, after graduation I was working a part time job as my full time job and had a bit more disposable income than I did before and started shopping at American eagle, aerie and pink, I’ve noticed the quality in pink go down dramatically over the years (back to school shopped there since middle school) I have to say the clothes I have purchased from American eagle and aerie I have re-worn year after year and are much more livable, I think my generation is becoming more aware of the quality of clothes and the evils of fast fashion which could also be contributing to forever 21s downfall

[jasonwomack]

Forever 21's position is hardly unique. When you build a brand focused on young female fashion, the countdown to decline begins the minute you open. Some innovate enough to survive longer, but still lose their luster. Selling "hip and trendy" to young women when their mom has memories of frequenting your establishment is a tough psychology to navigate past. Victoria Secret is probably the gold medal winner of navigating this time bomb, and even they eventually fell.

[TeaWithTay]

Online shops like Romwe, Shien, Fashion Nova are beating them at their game by selling at a lower price and even faster fashion.

[marsgal]

The whole point of Forever 21 (and Zara and H&M) is to go see what's new, what's in the store today. This doesn't translate well to online shopping.

Personally, I find H&M's basics to be good value. Anything trendy is hit or miss. Zara feel like they're trying to be upmarket but don't quite understand what that means. Forever 21 were a disorganized mess the last time I was there.

[RingoBuns]

Back in the mid 2010s I used to LOVE forever 21. They had this sweet and cute style of clothes that I couldn’t find anywhere else. I also live in Canada so it was harder to find a location that wasn’t in a big city. Then the bankruptcy happened and I’m not positive but I’m pretty sure they closed almost all of their Canadian locations. Fast forward to earlier this year and a “forever 21” opens as almost like a corner shop in The Bay which is kinda like a Sears with fancier brands. They also had their clothes occasionally in other discount fast fashion places like Urban Planet. The one thing I notice right away is that although prices are still in that “average/slightly above average” area, their clothes have gotten remarkably lower quality. Like, almost lower than Shein/Romwe quality in some cases. Everything is made of cheap polyester even when it doesn’t have to be, Seams aren’t finished or have fraying or thread sticking out, zippers are ripped or really poor quality and you can just feel the clothes falling apart even while you try them on. Even with items on sale, it’s hard to justify the purchase because I’m thinking “oh I’ll have to sew this” or “oh I’ll have to reinforce this”. And like, there’s some items I have from before the bankruptcy that I still wear almost 10 years later, but now anything I buy from there feels like I’ll only get a wash or two out of them before they’re ruined. I can only imagine the quality control and conditions of their clothing manufacturers…. Plus… maybe im just older now at 26, but I find the clothes not all that unique anymore? They often use the same patterns or fabric for multiple items and they’re not as cute as they are either just edgy or something you’d wear on a night out. I remember getting cute cardigans from there, and dress clothes and nice blouses and now that’s nowhere to be found. It’s just sad the direction they’ve gone in because I really had a lot of loyalty and favour for the brand but now it feels like a completely different store. And they don’t even have that much stock anyways, either online or in store. It’s just disappointing honestly.