BOSSES of a major clothing chain are set to close down its last remaining stores – months after filing for bankruptcy.
Hundreds of locations are set to disappear from the map as a result.
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Chiefs have taken the decision to close locations in response to changing demands of retailer.
Forever 21 bosses have taken drastic action after filing for bankruptcy in March.
Court documents, seen by USA Today, revealed that all 354 stores in the US would slam shut by May 1.
The closures look set to go ahead as a potential buyer has not emerged.
Brad Sell, the chief financial officer of F21 OpCo, penned a note to shoppers after news of the bankruptcy emerged.
And, he made a stark admission about the retail situation.
“We are deeply grateful for the support you have shown us over the years, but rising costs and increased competition from abroad have made our current business model unsustainable,” Sell said.
Chiefs warned that gift cards remained valid until April 15 and said the closures only impact Forever 21 stores in the US.
And they said that staffers will not accept refunds or exchanges.
“Forever 21 stores outside of the U.S. will continue to operate business as usual,” Sell said.
In the run-up to the closures, chiefs cut the prices of items by 60%.
Forever 21 had been part of the retail landscape for more than 40 years.
Bosses filed for bankruptcy twice within six years.
The company first filed for bankruptcy in 2019 and bosses closed down 200 stores.
US braces for ‘45,000 store closures’
Some 45,000 bricks-and-mortar stores could close in the next five years, experts have warned.
Several major retailers have announced store closures or gone out of business altogether in recent years.
In 2023, chains such as Foot Locker announced plans to close up to 400 outlets by 2026.
While, other well-known retailers like Tuesday Morning and Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams filed for bankruptcy in 2023.
Bed Bath & Beyond has closed all of its brick-and-mortar stores and is now an online-only retailer.
The most affected retailers have been clothing, consumer electronics, sporting goods, hobby, book, music, and home furnishing stores since the start of 2019.
UBS has predicted the total number of retail stores will drop by 45k from 958k to 913k.
Despite that, the report says that certain stores should thrive while others decline.
It said retailers such as Walmart, Costco, Home Depot, and Target, could be among the winners.
At the time of the second bankruptcy filing, chiefs blamed retailers such as Shein and Temu.
They claimed Shein had undercut their business via a trade loophole on goods under $800.
Retailers didn’t have to pay extra charges on imports under $800.
Donald Trump has signed an executive order in a bid to close the loophole.
Forever 21 is not the only retailer winding down operations in the US.
Bosses at the crafts retailer Jo-Ann are in the process of closing hundreds of stores.
Locations are set to close by the end of May.
Execs revealed that around 255 locations were slated to close by end of the April, with the rest following this month.
But, bosses at Burlington will take on 45 locations, as reported by Retail Dive.
A slew of popular retailers have or are already in the process of closing stores.
Last year, Macy’s bosses revealed 150 underperforming locations would close over three years.
In April, 27 Kohl’s stores disappeared from the map, and seven JCPenney stores across the US are set to close by May 25.
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