Map Shows States to Be Hardest Hit by Forever 21 Store Closures

Forever 21 is one of the most recognizable names in fast fashion

Jarrod Weber, global president of lifestyle at Authentic, said

Certain non-U.S. online retailers that compete with the Debtors, such as Temu and Shein, have taken advantage of this exemption and, therefore, have been able to pass significant savings onto consumers,

Coulombe wrote

The ability for non-U.S. retailers to sell their products at drastically lower prices to U.S. consumers has significantly impacted the Company's ability to retain its traditional core customer base,

wrote Coulombe

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,

Jarrod Weber, the global president of lifestyle at Authentic Brands Group, said in a statement

Despite wide-spread calls from U.S. companies and industry groups for the U.S. government to create a level playing field for U.S. retailers by closing the exemption, U.S. laws and policies have not solved the problem,

he added

Brick-and-mortar retailers like Forever 21 operate in a highly competitive environment where the cost of doing business is expensive and rising with inflation rates,

Sarah Foss, head of legal and restructuring at Debtwire, which provides data and analytics on leveraged loans

Forever 21 was the brand that the former generation used,

said Roger Beahm, a marketing professor and director of the Retail Learning Labs at Wake Forest University, told the Los Angeles Times

By relentlessly chasing trends and catering to an ever-widening market — young women and matrons, men and toddlers — Forever 21 has positioned itself as a retail powerhouse, the American answer to fast fashion emporiums like the European-based Zara, Mexx and H&M,

the New York Times wrote in 2007.

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, as well as rising costs, economic challenges impacting our core customers, and evolving consumer trends,

said Brad Sell, F21 OpCo's chief financial officer