Forever 21

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Forever 21, Inc.
Type	Subsidiary
Founded	1984
Headquarters	Forever 21, Inc., Los Angeles, California, USA 90058^[1]
Key people	Do Won (Don) Chang, CEO
Industry	Apparel
Website	www.forever21.com

Forever 21 is a chain of clothing retailers throughout the United States and Canada offering fashion and accessories for young women and men. Most of the retailer's apparel is private label and made in Southern California.^[2]

1 History
2 Controversy
3 References
4 External links

[edit] History

The chain, originally known as Fashion 21, was founded in Los Angeles, California in 1984 by Korean-American Do-Won Chang and his wife, Jin-Sook. While the first store, still located at 5637 N. Figueroa St. in Los Angeles was only 900 square feet, Fashion 21 eventually expanded at the rate of a new store every six months and changed the Fashion 21 brand name to Forever 21. In 1985, the first Forever 21 store was placed in a mall and increased from its previous size to 5,000 square feet. In 1995, the company expanded their chain to Florida and opened a store in Miami's Mall of the Americas.^[3] On June 23, 2007, Forever 21 opened its second store in Canada after its store in Edmonton. Located in Toronto on Yonge Street. More than 400 stores in the U.S., Canada, Singapore, Malaysia, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates now operate in the Forever 21 chain, including Forever XXI (large flagship stores), For Love 21 (accessories), Heritage 1981 (men's and women's vintage), Twelve by Twelve (upscale Los Angeles), and Gadzooks 21 (formally Gadzooks).

Its revenue has topped $1 billion in 2006, placing Forever 21 in the ranks of the top 500 privately held companies in the U.S. The business strategy of Forever 21 has budgeted expenses in advertising. The company chooses to keep their money away from premium real estate that attracts heavy commercial traffic.

Merchandise arrives in a Forever 21 store every day, contributing to a roll over of 20 percent of its stock in a given week.

The store's trademark yellow shopping bags have the words John 3:16 printed on the bottom, a reflection of the owners' Christian faith.^[4]

[edit] Controversy

In November 2001, factory workers producing clothing for the company called for a store boycott until working conditions and payroll improved. The lawsuit was dropped when Forever 21 paid the workers' back wages.^[5]

In 2004, under pressure from PETA, Forever 21 agreed to stop selling clothing made with animal fur.^[6]

Forever 21 has also been accused of stealing designs from high-end fashion brands. Recently, Designer Diane von Fürstenberg has filed a lawsuit against Forever 21 for duplicating her dress designs. ^[7] Since that time Furstenberg has settled with the company for undisclosed terms ^[8]. Singer and designer Gwen Stefani has filed a federal lawsuit against the fashion megachain, claiming the retailer illegally ripped off her Harajuku Lovers designs. ^[9] Designer Anna Sui has also filed a lawsuit against Forever 21 alleging that Forever 21 sold and offered for sale numerous women's clothing items bearing a striking similarity to her products featured at the most recent New York Fashion Week shows.^[10]