Forever 21 Falls Out of Favor with Teen Consumers

Teenage clothing store brand Forever 21 filed for bankruptcy on Sunday, saying it will close 178 stores in the U.S. in an attempt to overhaul its strategy. Worldwide, the brand will close 300 to 350 locations and said it wants to pull out of Asian and European markets entirely.

Forever 21 sales peaked in 2015, at $4.4 billion - the brand's peak in popularity with teen consumers likely came earlier than that. While around 9 to 10 percent of U.S. teens listed the company as their favorite clothing brand during 2009, 2010 and 2011, that number was only 8 percent in early 2014 and has been as low as 5 percent since the fall of 2016.

The same survey which rendered these results, Taking Stock with Teens by Piper Jaffray, has been showing for years that young consumers have been moving their business online and have been spending on athletic wear and sportswear more heavily.