Forever 21, Now in Department Store Size

by Bee-Shyuan Chang (Subscribe to Bee-Shyuan Chang's posts)
Posted Jan 26th 2010 at 3:25PM

Kendall Jenner modeling a look from Forever 21's capsule collection "Twist." Photo: Forever21.com

Budget shoppers, er, everybody rejoice. Now you can scour Forever 21's fast fashion designs in a massive department store setting.

The retailer recently opened an 85,691 sq. ft. store in Los Cerritos Center located in a Los Angeles suburb. Formerly a Mervyn's location, the giant outpost is Forever 21's first foray in the department store world.

"We're guided by our customers, and we believe Forever 21 will be a real fit at Los Cerritos Center," said Larry Meyer, Executive Vice President of the retailer.

"Even in what has been a challenging retail environment, we see significant opportunities to grow our business in strong markets, as we are at Los Cerritos."

And Meyer wasn't kidding about growth figuring into the company's strategy. While department stores quiver in their full-price boots, the new store anchors the mall along with Nordstrom, Macy's and Sears.

Forever 21 is planning on 30 more large scale stores, including a 90,000 sq. ft. space in NYC's Times Square, reports WWD.

More shopping aisles at the Los Cerritos store means that the retailer's full range such as offshoots like Forever 21 Twist and Twelve by Twelve are easily accessible. We're just hoping the extra square footage also means more fitting rooms.

On the flip side, fast fashion may be slowing down due to some legal land mines.

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Filed under: Fashion, News, Designers & Brands, Shopping
Tags: Department stores, Forever 21, Forever 21 Twist, Retailers, Twelve By Twelve

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READER COMMENTS

(9)Add A Comment

donvila, 1-27-2010, 8:48AM

Even someone shopping at Goodwill could easily put together an ensemble in better taste than the one pirtured. I've yet to see a homeless person dressed in this degree of bad taste.

It really is stunning how far the boundaries of reason and taste are pushed when someone wants to sell something and endeavors to make you think you look good in it.

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Jane, 1-27-2010, 10:20AM

Yes donvilla I have to agree with you 100%! It's sad when they have to throw out good taste for a mess like what's shown here. Nothing goes together, it looks like she dressed in the dark. I wouldn't be seen out in public dressed like that even if the clothes are expensive or rated the "in thing". I won't sacrifice smart dressing like that. And you're right as far as Goodwill goes, I can also put together a good ensamble with clothes from there and I have many times! And I might add, a whole lot cheaper.

Dicey, 1-27-2010, 10:16AM

this would be a great news story if a department size forever 21 didnt open in virginia like 2 or 3 years ago.....looks like the west coast needs to step it up.

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Allison, 1-27-2010, 12:44PM

Yeah, I don't get it, a huge one opened up in my town IN Southern California months ago. So this LA location isn't even the first one in California.

MFinn, 1-27-2010, 11:14AM

Obviously the writer of this article has no idea or understanding of what a department store IS. A department store is so named because it has multiple DEPARTMENTS, not because of its sheer size. Unless Forever 21 starts carrying menswear, childrens' clothing, shoes, housewares and bedding, it can hardly be called a department store. I doubt Sears, Macy's or Nordstrom's are "shaking in their boots" simply because there's going to be a store with 56 racks full of see through leggings.

This article is so ridiculous - seriously stylelist, where is the quality control?

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Shannon, 1-27-2010, 12:25PM

I agree. When I read the link to bring me to this page it said Forever 21 was now a department store and I thought it would be quite odd to buy my cookware from there, however on this page it just says size wise. I think some writers either really like to overhype things or they (like you said) have no clue to the true meaning of what a department store is.

Julie, 1-27-2010, 12:43PM

The article is titled, "Forever 21, Now in Department Store Size." They said it was department store SIZE, not actually a department store. Seemed pretty clear to me.

MFinn, 1-30-2010, 12:54PM

Quote from the article: "The giant outpost is Forever 21's first foray in the department store world."

And as Shannon said, the link was completely misleading.

Size is not the determining factor of whether or not a store is a department store. Merchandise selection is. Which is why referring to something as "department store size" is equally as stupid as calling something a dept store when it is not.