5 Challenges That Turned Forever 21 from Billions to Bankruptcy.

‍Did you know that before launching his retail empire in 1984, Won Chang worked three Jobs as a janitor, a gas station attendant and a barista at a coffee shop?

It was at the gas station that he realized, that the people who drove into the gas station with luxury cars were all from the retail industry. This piqued his interest in the field and he started building his path for the same. Founded in 1984, Forever 21 started as a single family-run store named Fashion 21 in Los Angeles. The store initially targeted the Korean American community in LA.

The founders Do Won Chang and Jin Sook Chang, immigrants from South Korea, envisioned creating a retail space, to provide fast-fashion garments to a young, fashion-conscious audience, a concept that was relatively new at the time.

The goal was simple: keep the store's clothes new and stylish. Jin Sook, once a hairdresser in South Korea, was really good at predicting fashion trends and copying designs. This helped the Changs stand out.

What was the strategy? Update the store's clothes often. 3 Strategies helped them establish early on:

• Rapid Stock Turnover: Quick adaptation to fashion trends and fast stock turnover were key early strategies.
• Target Demographic: Focusing primarily on the youth and young adults.
• Pricing Strategy: Offering fashion at low prices, making it accessible to a wider audience.

With their first store, Fashion 21, achieved remarkable success, earning from $35,000 to $700,000 in the first year alone.

Changs initially focussed on self-funding and the success of their first store led to rapid expansion:

• By the end of the first five years, financed through store revenues and very minimal borrowing, Forever 21 expanded to nine stores.
• 2007 saw another 30% retail square footage increase. Despite 2008's economic challenges, Forever 21 outpaced competitors by charging ahead with expansion.
• Forever 21 aggressively doubled its global store count to about 400 in three years, showcasing its ambitious and successful expansion strategy.
• With all this they peaked in 2015 with $4.4 billion in sales from more than 600 stores. giving Changs a combined net worth of $5.9 billion

But then came the “Retail Apocalypse”.

A major shift in consumer behavior happened, people started to flock to online websites, with retail stores with larger overhead and slow to move with online stores. Made it hard Forever 21 compete.

5 Major Challenges That Turned Billions to Bankruptcy:

1. Over-Expansion and Inefficient Store Management: Forever 21 rapidly expanded its physical presence too much too soon, at one point operating over 800 stores worldwide.This over-expansion led to increased operational costs and management complexities, that they were not ready for.In 2016, Forever 21 faced rent costs of $1.5 million per month for its Times Square store alone.
2. Shift in Consumer Preferences: With the surge in online shopping, consumer preferences shifted away from brick-and-mortar stores.Competitors like ASOS and Zara invested heavily in their online platforms and logistics, while Forever 21 was slow to adapt.
3. Market Saturation and Competition: The market saw an influx of fast fashion brands offering similar products, often at lower prices or with quicker turnaround times.Competitors outpaced Forever 21 in inventory turnover and supply chain efficiency.
4. Legal and Ethical Issues: Forever 21 faced several lawsuits related to labour practices and accusations of copying designs, including a high-profile case in 2017 where it was accused of copying clothing designs from Gucci.
5. Failure to Adapt to Sustainability Trends: As consumer awareness about sustainable fashion grew, Forever 21’s fast fashion model, which relies heavily on mass production and low-cost materials, came under scrutiny.

‍