Iconic fast-fashion chain Forever 21, a one-time hot shopping destination for teens, is closing all of its 44 stores across the country, including one location in Richmond Centre.
Richmond shoppers can find cheap clearance sales at the chain store. The shop also set up a price menu outside, touting its lowest priced products such as $2 accessories and $12 outwears.
However, the deals didn’t entice many shoppers into the store Tuesday morning when only a few seniors could be seen milling about.
The Los Angeles-based retail giant announced Sunday that it has filed for bankruptcy in both Canada and U.S. Currently, it employs approximately 2,000 people in Canada. All Canada locations will remain open during the liquidation process.
“After considering numerous options, we have made the difficult decision to discontinue operations in Canada. While this decision was not easy to make, we believe it’s the right one for Forever 21 Canada,” said Bradley Sell, CFO of Forever 21 Canada.
“We had hoped for a different outcome, but after years of poor performance and challenges set forth by the headwinds facing the retail industry today, our Canadian operations are simply no longer economically viable.”
Forever 21 will leave a big retail space inside Richmond Centre when it closes shop sometime before the end of the year. The Richmond News has reached out to Cadillac Fairview for comments regarding what impact the closure will have on the centre and what other stores or services may replace it but hasn’t received any response at the times of publication.
Meanwhile, the retailer plans to keep doors open in Mexico and Latin America but will close most stores in Asia and Europe.
