Forever 21 Reportedly Preparing to File for Bankruptcy

Several sources are reporting that Forever 21 is preparing to restructure and possibly file for bankruptcy.

I can recall going shopping with so many of my friends at this store. At one point they had a pretty awesome selection of men's clothes as well.

Now, this announcement comes at a pretty interesting time. Most malls have been buzzing with traffic for back to school and, I know you don't want to talk about this yet, but the holidays are right around the corner.

Unfortunately, Forever 21 is not alone; just in the past three to four years, several other massive retailers have done the same, including a Dartmouth Mall favorite of mine, Aeropostale.

The neat story behind the massive Forever 21 brand is how it was started. It was a husband and wife team that immigrated from South Korea in 1981 and opened a clothing store in California with only $11,000 in savings. The couple is reportedly now worth over $3 billion.

It's sad to see some of these retailers that I spent so many hours in with my mother growing up now closing their doors. Most of these stores are suffering because of the online shopping boom of the younger generation.

I still have to go into the store and try things on. It's about the experience. I'm thinking the only way these brick and mortar retail shops are going to survive is if they start adding an "experience" to their store model. The future generations are looking to be treated like royalty while spending the same.

The future of Forever 21 is uncertain but I will absolutely pop into the Providence Place mall and see how they are doing.