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The third Forever 21 to open in the UK is enormous and is one of the anchors at Westfield Stratford, but is it in a position to capitalise on Peacocks' troubles?
Amid the furore surrounding the demise of Peacocks and the rise and rise of Primark, there is a value fashion merchant that seems to be keeping a relatively low profile in spite of the substantial footprint of each of its stores. The retailer is Forever 21 and over the past year it has trebled its UK store count ... to three.
The point, however, is not that it has a very modest store count, but that this is the value fashion success story in the US. Its arrival on these shores, initially in Birmingham at the tail end of 2010, and then on Oxford Street and most recently at Westfield Stratford, has been the subject of much discussion about structural changes in the value market. Yet of late things have been pretty quiet.
This may have much to do with the recent focus on Peacocks, but it is equally possible that having opened two enormous stores and a two-floor branch on Oxford Street, Forever 21 is taking a bit of a breather and assessing the market. And to judge by a visit to the Westfield Stratford store last week, it could be a while before we see another rise from the drawing board. It might have been a cold and wet Tuesday at the end of January, but this was a store that was, for the most part, devoid of shoppers. Others in the centre were also suffering, but this was a true tumbleweed moment.Key looks and merchandise mi
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