Home Industries Capital Goods Forever 21 in Warwick to close under parent’s bankruptcy plan

Forever 21 in Warwick to close under parent’s bankruptcy plan

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PBN Staff

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03/17/2025

SHOPPERS WALK by a Forever 21 clothing store in Tokyo. Forever 21 has filed for bankruptcy protection for a second time and plans to close down its U.S. business as traffic in U.S. shopping malls fades and competition from online retailers like Amazon, Temu and Shein intensifies. /ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO / KICHIRO SATO

WARWICK – Another mall retail staple will be closing its doors for good. Forever 21 at the Warwick Mall on Bald Hill Road will be shuttering after its parent company, F21 OpCo., told the Associated Press late Sunday that it will wind down the chain’s business in the U.S. under a Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection

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WARWICK – Another mall retail staple will be closing its doors for good. Forever 21 at the Warwick Mall on Bald Hill Road will be shuttering after its parent company, F21 OpCo., told the Associated Press late Sunday that it will wind down the chain's business in the U.S. under a Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection plan. The parent is looking to see if it can continue as a business with a partner, or if it will sell some or all of its assets. "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," Chief Financial Officer Brad Sell said in a statement. The de minimis tax exemption lets shipments headed to U.S. businesses and consumers valued at less than $800 to enter the country tax free and duty free. Forever 21 stores in the U.S. will hold liquidation sales and the website will continue to run while operations wind down. Forever 21 also has 11 stores in Massachusetts, including Dartmouth and North Attleboro. The retailer's locations outside of the U.S. are run by other licensees and are not included in the bankruptcy filing. International store locations and websites will continue operating as normal. Authentic Brands Group owns the international intellectual property associated with the Forever 21 brand and may license the brand to other operators, F21OpCo said. Jarrod Weber, global president, lifestyle at Authentic Brands Group, said the restructuring lets Forever 21 "accelerate the modernization of the brand's distribution model, setting it up to compete and lead in fast fashion for decades to come. We're building a direct creation-to-shelf model that moves faster." He added that, "We are receiving lots of interest from strong brand operators and digital experts who share our vision and are ready to take the brand to the next level." Forever 21 first filed for bankruptcy protection in 2019. The following year, it was acquired by a consortium of parties including Authentic Brands Group and mall owners Simon Property Group and Brookfield Property Partners. In early January, Forever 21's parent company, Sparc Group, merged with JCPenney to form Catalyst Brands, a new entity that also includes brands Aéropostale, Brooks Brothers, Eddie Bauer, Lucky Brand and Nautica. Forever 21 joins a slew of other retailers that have filed for Chapter 11 or are liquidating in recent months. Retailers face a slowdown in consumer spending and are navigating rising operating costs amid inflationary pressures. They include fabric and crafts retailer Joann Inc. and Party City. In February, Outdoor apparel seller Liberated Brands, which has operated stores for surfer and skater-inspired labels Quiksilver, Billabong and Volcom, filed for bankruptcy — and said it plans to shutter its locations across the U.S. (Material from The Associated Press was used in this report.)