Forever 21 stores on Long Island could close amid bankruptcy

Long Island’s six remaining Forever 21 stores are set to hold liquidation sales and could be eventually shuttered after the international fashion retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Sunday.

Forever 21, whose U.S. operations are owned by Los Angeles-based F21 OpCo LLC, said in a statement released late Sunday that its more than 350 stores and website in the United States would remain open while its parent company starts the process of "winding down operations."

There was no timeline given for the potential wind down.

The retailer said it "will conduct liquidation sales at its stores while simultaneously conducting a court supervised sale and marketing process" in the event that a buyer can be found to take over operations.

Stores outside the United States are not part of the bankruptcy and closure plans.

"While we have evaluated all options to best position the company for the future, we have been unable to find a sustainable path forward," Brad Sell, chief financial officer of F21 OpCo, said in a statement. Sell cited "competition from foreign fast fashion companies" and "rising costs" as the primary reasons behind the bankruptcy.

"As we move through the process, we will work diligently to minimize the impact on our employees, customers, vendors and other stakeholders," Sell said.

Officials with the retailer did not provide specifics about the planned closure and referred questions to F21 OpCo's bankruptcy court filing. 

"Forever 21 was always a retailer living on borrowed time," Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData, a retail analysis firm based in Manhattan, said in a statement. "Over recent years it has been hit with dual headwinds from a weak apparel market and stiff competition from cheap Chinese marketplaces."

"Unfortunately, Forever 21 was a retailer built for a different era," Saunders said. "Most of its stores are way too large for its present needs. It is also exposed to too many weaker malls where foot traffic has been under pressure."

In 2019, when the clothing chain first filed for Chapter 11, Forever 21 closed hundreds of locations. Local stores that have closed since include those in Hicksville, Massapequa and Huntington Station.

Today, the chain has six locations on Long Island: the Green Acres Mall, Roosevelt Field, Smith Haven Mall, South Shore Mall, and the Tanger Outlets in Deer Park and Riverhead. 

On Monday afternoon, Forever 21 shopper Tashe Jay, 32, took advantage of the deep discounts promoted at the chain's Green Acres Mall location in Valley Stream. 

Jay, originally of Riverhead, was in town from Kissimmee, Florida, for her grandmother's birthday and decided to do some shopping. She was surprised to hear the news. 

"We just wanted to look at the mall, and I was shocked to see that they’re closing down Forever 21," said Jay, who has been a regular Forever 21 customer for years. "I don’t know what happened, but they’re a nice store."

Sabrina Caesar, 27, a Jamaica, Queens, resident visiting the store Monday, said the retailer held a special place in her heart from her days in high school.

"I don’t like it because Forever 21 has been around for so long. It’s Forever 21," Caesar said. "It would be like the place we'd go to ... just walking around to kill time after school."