Forever 21 shuts its last Hong Kong store as street rallies become the straw that broke the fashion retailer’s back
- The American fast-fashion chain has closed its Mong Kok store, pulling down the curtain on eight years in Hong Kong
- The city’s massive protest rallies, now in their fourth month, have often targeted Hong Kong’s main shopping districts
Forever 21, the struggling Californian fast-fashion retailer, has shut its last shop in Hong Kong, officially pulling out of the city as three months of civil unrest took a toll on high-street retailers.
“Forever 21 has been under pressure in recent years facing fierce competition from online, while the current dire situation in the city’s retail sector has speeded up its closure,” said Helen Mak, senior director and head of retail services at Knight Frank.
The American fashion retailer first came to Hong Kong in 2011 with a 50,000-square foot (4,645 square metres) flagship store in Causeway Bay, and then expanded to Mong Kok five years later. Amid a cool down in the popularity of fast-fashion, Forever 21 closed the Causeway Bay store two years ago, and the space was taken up by New York-based lingerie giant Victoria’s Secret.
According to filings made with the Land Registry, the current term of the lease for the Mong Kok premises - at a monthly rate of HK$2.6 million (US$331,600) will end in May 2023. But Forever 21 has opted to surrender the 19,200 sq ft space early.