Forever 21 Bankruptcy? 4 Reasons For Fast Losing Fashion

Fast fashion is coming to the final chapter!

On the eve of the Mid Autumn Festival, Forever 21, one of the fast fashion giants, will announce bankruptcy in September 15th. Although there was an official rumor soon after: "we are all right!" but is this really the case?

As early as May of this year, Forever 21, once a spectacular sight, withdrew from the Chinese market. In the international market, the former hegemony does not seem to be as good as that. In the first half of the year, more than 700 stores were closed in the United States alone. Cash flows declined rapidly, and capital was facing liquidity problems. It seems to be getting closer and closer to Death.

But this is not the first time we have heard the bad news from fast fashion. H&M slowed down, profits continued to fall, closed 140 stores last year, GAP is facing negative growth, and it is expected to close more than 30 stores. ZARA's achievements this year are also sad.

Since last year, fast fashion has always been in parallel with words such as discounts, closing stores and withdrawing from the market. The existence of that myth seems to have come to the final chapter.

What is the reason for slowing down the fast fashion brand that once built up half of the mall? Why on earth did consumers gradually abandon these brands?

The rise of fast fashion -- a brutal growth in the Chinese market

"Fast fashion", if we want to say its origin, can be traced back to the middle of last century. It was a quick feedback and imitation of fashion show design.

With the increasing popularity of fashion design and terminal sales, "fast fashion" has gradually evolved into a fashion garment company's quick response to fashion design, and made products that are closely related to the latest fashion trend, and enter the store at a low price, attacking the mainstream consumer's sales mode.

The Spanish brand ZARA is one of the pioneers of fast fashion revolution, and is also the leader today. Seeing the fast fashion dividend, everyone wants to get into the game, so fast fashion brands such as H&M, Forever 21 and UNIQLO are springing up.

The arrival of the new century has led to the expansion of fast fashion aimed at the Chinese market. In 2002, UNIQLO's first store opened in Shanghai; in 2005, Muji was set up in Shanghai; in 2007, ZARA came to Shanghai with H&M; 2010 GAP opened 4 stores in Beijing and Shanghai at the same time.

For a while, fast fashion is everywhere in China. Many small partners have a question. Why do so many brands take a look at Shanghai? Obviously, Shanghai has the title of "magic capital". Fashion, speed and diversification are the labels of that international metropolis. It would be more appropriate to start the first store in Shanghai.

It is also the development of the first ten years of the new century that has made great changes in China's clothing market. Faced with the impact of the new mode, Chinese local brands have been transformed into a "national tide".

Of course, there are also shocks and opportunities. Many domestic fashion traders first touched fast fashion, discovered the bonuses, and opened up local fast fashion brands, such as Smith Barney, Semir, UR, Tonlion...

Fast fashion is not fast!

As the old saying goes, "one mouthful does not make a fat man". Behind the rapid expansion is often a crisis.

Since 2016, the days of fast fashion brands in China have not been so easy.

Marsha's department store, which once opened its store, announced that it had closed all its physical stores in China. The Korean brand SPAO, which once built 3 sales in Shanghai for 4 million days, started a nationwide customs shop. The New look, who had set up 3 stores in 500 stores nationwide, announced in 18 years that it would close all stores by December 31st.

The days of local fast fashion brands are not so good. "Duomu took me to Metersbonwe today," and once relied on a big fire in the north and south of the river, Jay Chou disappeared for its endorsement of the US state; the Semir line industry showed a negative growth.

If the above is just some brands in the fast fashion family, the delisting is not so unusual. This year's fast fashion big brother Forever 21 quit the Chinese market, and undoubtedly gave the fast fashion fans a head start.

Now the crisis brought by the Chinese market to fast fashion brands is expanding, and the fast fashion industry is slowly escaping from the Chinese market, and the whole market is defeated.

ZARA, H&M's fast fashion industry "big brother" is the first to bear the brunt of the global open shop fever; Forever 21 has been repeatedly reduced by exploding performance, capital turnover is not strong, and even faces bankruptcy protection crisis.

Why is fashion so fast?

What made this once fast fashion industry become so embarrassed? Zero consultants want to have these reasons, and all clothing people are worth learning from and thinking deeply:

1, products are not complacent and innovative.

In the past few years, we mentioned that some fast fashion brands always think of words such as popularity, fashion, high-end, atmosphere and grade.

High cost performance is an important reason why fast fashion brands are popular. Quality assurance, but also wear out fashion sense. Wearing a ZARA clothes at that time will bring people's attention. It's a matter of pride.

However, in view of today's fast fashion products, ZARA has been repeatedly plagiarized, and the new GAP has no originality.

With the increase of prices, China's abandonment of cheap manufacturing and the vicious competition between fast fashion brands, the price of fashionable single products can not increase with the increase of prices. At a time when costs are soaring, these enterprises can only cut costs from fabric, design and workmanship to ensure their profits.

In general, the fabric is getting worse and worse, the work is becoming more and more rough, and the design is becoming more and more ugly.

The development of any enterprise starts from the needs of customers. Ensure product quality while meeting customer needs, and even provide extended services. In the fast fashion fashion, the practice of neglecting the product itself is undoubtedly self defeating.

2. Ignorance of the market brings a heavy blow.

The decline of fast fashion is inseparable from its blind expansion in the Chinese market. In addition to Forever 21, many fast fashion brands have been hit hard in the Chinese market.

Why has the Chinese market become the last straw to crush the camels? Actually, we should commend some Chinese garment enterprises here.

Under the pressure of fast fashion, such as Lining, Anta and other brand enterprises began to transform, both in terms of products and business models have made a qualitative leap. Lining's "national tide" is playing the role of wind and water, and Anta has made a world of market by occupying the 90 and 00 markets. Its FILA has become an explosive charge for young people nowadays.

If the competition of local enterprises is not enough to make the fast fashion silent, Chinese consumers will stand up. With the improvement of the quality of life, Chinese consumers are increasingly strict in their products. The traditional consumption concept is that the quality of products is more important than the sense of fashion.

Nowadays, what customers really need is products that guarantee high quality and fashion sense at the same time. Obviously, the fashion of some brands is contrary to the needs of customers.

If customers fail to meet their needs, customers will naturally not buy it, performance decline, profit reduction and cost rise again, forming a vicious circle.

3, 95, 00 went to the mainstream stage, and the concept of environmental protection was advocated.

The rise and fall of any industry is determined by the "judge" of the main stage. The era of fast fashion rising is the era of 80 and 90 rule market. These people advocate a kind of petty bourgeoisie. Obviously, the fast fashion and perfect match fit the concept of this kind of crowd: rebellion against high priced luxury goods.

Now is the era of 95 and 00, and fast fashion is in their eyes, just like the high priced luxury goods in our eyes.

At the same time, environmentalism is also rising, and negative news such as environmental pollution and the employment of cheap child labor are constantly emerging. This is a serious blow to the corporate image. Because of the fast pursuit of fashion, a large number of backlogs produced every year become the chief culprit of destroying the environment. The congenital deficiency caused by this mode is fatal. Nowadays, when it comes to fast fashion, young people first think of cheap, hoarding and poor quality. Think about it is very polluted.

4, the emergence of electricity providers to slow fashion accelerated

Compared with fast fashion, slow fashion never seems to be out of date. What is slow fashion?

Slow fashion is relative to fast fashion, a more rational and lasting fashion. Although it has no creative design, there is no mass of fashion products. But from the beginning to the end, it reveals the breath of the earth's air, revealing warmth and comfort.

The emergence of electricity providers has added a boost to slow fashion, accelerating customer awareness of slow fashion. If the slow fashion that has not been exposed before the emergence of the electricity supplier is the carnival of a small number of people, then the exposure of the electricity supplier will bring the slow fashion to the perfect pursuit of customers' pursuit of dressing quality and taste.

Compared to a year and a half to eliminate clothes, and constantly catch up with fashion, customers are more eager to get a permanent and outdated temperament.

What is the future of fast fashion?

Although fast fashion is facing unprecedented challenges, there are also many brands of "joy". Such as UNIQLO, it is not only unaffected by the "unfriendly" from the Chinese market, but the heat continues to rise. Ryui Masa, founder, said that he would open 1000 stores in China by 2020.

UNIQLO is just a special case. It is unquestionable that fast fashion is facing difficulties at the moment. How can this once spectacular model avoid "flash in the pan" and how to regenerate Nirvana?

We see that ZARA is still expanding against the wind, and H&M is starting to sell its external brand goods. Morima Mikuni is riding on the road of e-commerce. UNIQLO is moving towards hegemony.

Which model can save these brands? Is fast fashion continuing to accelerate or forgotten? We will wait and see!

Every dress is a memory of the past. Let us record them in words and remember the warmth they once brought to us.