The retailer Forever 21 is considering bankruptcy and may shutter at least 200 US-based stores as soon as next month.
According to a Bloomberg report sourced from unnamed “people with knowledge of the matter,” the chain’s US operator, F21 OpCo, is seeking a buyer for its remaining stores. If a buyer cannot be secured, Forever 21 will most likely be forced to shut down its entire 350-store chain.
The Forever 21 trademark and intellectual property are owned by Authentic Brands, which licenses them to F21 OpCo, which itself is a unit of Catalyst Brands. Authentic Brands’ would retain ownership of the Forever 21 brand during the bankruptcy process and would have the option to license the Forever 21 brand to other retailers regardless of a potential sale or retail asset liquidation.
Forever 21 first filed for bankruptcy in 2019, with Authentic Brands gaining ownership in 2020 in a partnership with Simon Property Group and Brookfield Properties.
Photo by BargainMoose / Wikimedia Commons
