Forever 21 bid for the UK

Forever 21 has been testing waters in Europe with its first openings in Birmingham and Dublin. A couple of months after the beloved American retailer dared to set foot in the Old Continent, speculation is going on how it is performing

in the UK.

Outlets in Birmingham, Dublin and London Stratford are set to become the company's first in Europe. In the near future, the company also plans to open stores in other UK cities as well as flagship stores in London's Oxford Street and possibly in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Germany and Austria. Never the less, Forever 21 has been quite quiet about specific plans in terms of number of stores to be opened in Europe. As such, the UK openings are considered to be a way of testing whether the highly competitive European market can absorb another fast fashion chain.

Don Chang, founder and chief executive assured “We are thrilled to offer the broadest selection of the latest fashion trends at a great value to the stylish European shoppers.” The US store sports cost conscious clothing and accessories, sometimes being compared to Primark and New Look and showing annual revenues approaching $2bn (£1.4bn).

Just for those loving benchmarking, the week Forever 21 opened its doors to Brits, Primark reported a 35 per cent rise in operating profits and Forever 21's executive vice-president Larry Meyer was bullish: “People want to look good and in the main they like the ability to have new clothes at affordable prices.”

Amina Aktar, a brand consultant in NYC commented on the appeal of the Forever 21 brand, saying: “I can see how the brand appeals to younger people. It’s fast, affordable, fun – what is not to love about that? If I had a teenager, I bet you a million dollars she’d live at Forever 21, and rightfully so. Part of the appeal is the loud blasting music and overwhelming displays.” In the same vein, Forever 21’s executive vice president, remarked on the brand, saying: “We are sure that style-conscious shoppers are going to love our fashions and our prices.”

“It will be a new name to the British public and to direct competitors, such as H&M, Primark, New Look and to some extent Topshop, which are well established,” summed up research director Natalie Berg at Planet Retail, which analyses retail markets. Berg explained Forever 21 was a household name in the US, where it is aimed at mothers shopping with daughters and has single-handedly created the fast fashion market. She said it would need to provide a distinctive offer to catch the imagination of the British public, rather than just offering bargain prices.

On the contrary, Harper Dennis Hobbs director James Ebel said in 2008, when the Chang's emporium announced his appointment as their real state agent in Europe: “Forever 21 is enjoying phenomenal success in the US even in the current climate, so it has decided that now is the right time to make their entry into the UK.”

As reveled by real state publication Property Week, Forever 21, has been looking in the UK for two years until they made their decision to set up their first store in Birmingham. The retailer is reported to have paid a premium of GBP14m to take HMV's lease at 360 Oxford Street, while also paying rent of GBP2.7m per annum. As published last November in the Global Retail Freeview by DataMonitor, investing such a hefty sum is a clear signal that the brand intends to hit the UK hard.

Forever 21 preferences in terms of property and location goes after large, prominent stores of between 30,000 sq ft and 50,000 sq ft (2,785 sq m and 4,645 sq m). The retailer executive vice president Larry Meyer advanced that their business is primed for significant international growth this year. (2010).”Bullring is an ideal location and we are looking forward to expanding our business into Birmingham and other parts of the UK.” The retailer operates over 480 stores in the United States and Puerto Rico, with international operations in Canada, Korea and Japan and has recently announced the opening of a new European headquarters in Breda, the Netherlands.