The then named clothing store, Fashion 21, was founded in Los Angeles, California in 1984 by Korean-American Do-Won Chang and his wife, Jin-Sook. The first store, located at 5637 N. Figueroa St. in the Highland Park district of Los Angeles was only 900 square feet. By the end of the first year, sales had risen from $35,000 to $700,000. Fashion 21 eventually expanded at the rate of a new store every six months and changed the Fashion 21 brand name to Forever 21.
Drastically expanding the number of Forever 21 stores nationally, Forever 21 opened 21 flagship stores in Georgia, Texas, Miami, Los Angeles, Orem, Chicago, and Canada. The average size of 21 venues are an average of 24,000 square feet. Since 2002, Forever 21 has been ranked as one of the 50 largest privately held companies in Los Angeles, and in 2005, Forever 21 was operating over 355 locations nationwide with the brands Forever 21, Forever XXI, For Love 21, and Gadzooks.
In September 2008, Forever 21 opened its new flagship store in North Atlanta, Georgia, the first 21 flagship in Georgia. Another flagship opened in Atlanta two months later. Its numerous shop-in-shop concepts demonstrates the continuing strength of boutique and specialty retailing over the department or megastore format.
Forever 21 will open its first flagship store in Puerto Rico at Plaza Las Américas during Summer 2009, and the store will be one of the most spacious of the chain, similar in size and design to the Forever 21 in New York, San Francisco, and on the exclusive Michigan Avenue in Chicago. Its revenue topped $1 billion in 2006, placing Forever 21 in the ranks of the top 500 privately held companies in the U.S.
Although Forever 21 is a thriving company indeed, it has come with its controversy and mess. 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 and the matter was settled out of court and the company agreed to take steps to ensure that its garments were not made in sweatshops. In 2004, under pressure from PETA, Forever 21 agreed to stop selling clothing made with animal fur, and Forever 21 has also been accused of stealing designs from high-end fashion brands. Recently, such designers as Diane von Furstenburg, Gwen Stefani, and Anna Sui have filed a lawsuit against Forever 21 for duplicating simliar designs. The store's trademark yellow shopping bags have the words John 3:16 printed on the bottom, a reflection of the owners' Christian faith.
(picture from Forever21.com)
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