APD | US fashion retailer to shut down all stores in Japan by late October

By APD writer Alice

The US fast fashion retailer Forever 21 Inc will close all 14 stores in the country and its online shop by the end of October amid intensifying competition with other online apparel retailers, Forever 21’s Japan unit said on September 25.

The company did not explain the reason for withdrawing from the Japan market. The announcement follows US media reports in August that the Los Angeles-based company has been considering filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Forever 21 opened its first outlet in Japan in the trend-setting Harajuku district in Tokyo in 2009, and currently operates stores in Yokohama, Osaka and other major cities across the country.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)