Forever 21 is Closing All of Its U.S. Stores. Here’s why.

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If you are walking around your local mall, you will most likely see huge signs plastered all around Forever 21. You may think this has to be an average storewide sale since the season is about to change. Unfortunately, you will be sure to make a mistake if you wait too long to get on the sales because every single Forever 21 store in the United States will be closing.

USA Today found that somewhere close to 350 stores will close after Forever 21’s second bankruptcy in under six years. The brand was able to bounce back the first time since it closed down only a few stores across the country. However, Forever 21 did not fully recover and will have to stop selling clothing at physical stores. 

There are speculations that online purchasing has caused a decline in in-person shopping, which is why physical stores are starting to close down. Forever 21 is a fast-fashion company, and now there are online websites that sell similar clothing, potentially even from the same manufacturing company. Sticking to only producing low-quality trendy styles makes it even harder for companies like Forever 21 to stand out compared to when they were pioneering the concept in the mid-2010s.

Fashion Drives shared that not only is inflation a reason for Forever 21’s second bankruptcy, but competition, like SHEIN and Temu, is the primary theory for its store closing. Nowadays, clothing brands stay afloat in 2025 when they have standout pieces that can only be found at that store or website. Brands can no longer rely on being the typical copy-and-paste fast-fashion company. It is not a competition for which company can sell the cheapest clothing without caring about the quality.

Forever 21's initial appeal, compared to its online competitors, was that it was a physical store where people could try on their clothes before buying. Its primary consumers were also younger and interested in fun styles, and there were no trendy and highly affordable physical stores for young adults. Forever 21 was also doing so well because you could run in if you needed an outfit for the next day or had a fashion emergency. 

Fast-fashion brands like Fashion Nova and Pretty Little Thing are doing entire rebrands. Styles are changing to a quiet luxury aesthetic, so they are getting ahead of the curve and relying on a vast upcoming trend. Forever 21 was not evolving as fast as these other brands, causing its consumers to drop rapidly. Even with collaborations like Sanrio, Juicy Couture and Betsey Johnson, Forever 21 could not save the store.

Forever 21 will close all of its physical stores by May 1. Due to its inability to meet demand, Forever 21 will now offer its apparel online. Before the largest sale ends and all the stores close, check out Forever 21, which will soon have deals up to 75% off almost everything.