By ZHANG Xinyu

After two years' absence, Forever 21, an American fast-fashion brand, is having another crack at the Chinese market.

The brand has opened up outlets on e-commerce platforms Vipshop and Pingduoduo, with Tmall soon to follow. Brick-and-mortar stores are planned. Items in the Pingduduo store are priced between 39 and 399 yuan.

Forever 21 left the Chinese mainland in April 2019 and filed for bankruptcy in September. In February 2020, it was taken over by Simon Property Group, Brookfield Property Partners, and SPARC Group for US$81 million (525 million yuan). In New York this March, Forever 21 opened its first new store since the takeover.

The Chinese market is quite different from what it was in 2019. Customers have changed their attitudes toward fast fashion. Chinese consumers now value design and quality, which fast-fashion brands rarely offer. With the increase in disposable income, fast fashion's cost-efficiency and choice are threatened by other categories, such as business attire and luxury ready-to-wear. Customers seek individuality and mass-produced duplication is quite the opposite of what they want.

A report from brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance showed that compared with 2020, the brand value of Zara and H&M dropped by 10 percent, indicating a tough future ahead for Forever 21.

But that doesn't mean Forever 21 has no chance to prevail. CEN Jiwen of Oliver Wyman believes it is reasonable for Forever 21 to begin with online outlets before establishing an offline store network since the COVID-19 pandemic continues to cast shadows over all brick-and-mortar businesses. Brands need time to establish strategies for super large stores in China.

Localization and brand identity are important in the fast fashion industry, Forever 21 has to give customers a buy-back reason, said Cen. Crossover with Chinese brands and designs to appeal to the local consumers can be the first step.