Forever 21 clothing back in Canada at Hudson's Bay

American low-cost fashion brand Forever 21 will offer its full collections in select Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) stores across the country, making a comeback in the Canadian market.

Selected The Bay stores began selling Forever 21 products on Friday, at Yorkdale Mall in Toronto and Square One Mall in Mississauga, Ont.

Forever 21 closed all of its Canadian stores in 2019, after filing for bankruptcy, although many of its stores remained open in the United States.

The new agreement will make Hudson's Bay Company the exclusive retailer of the brand in Canada.

According to HBC Senior Vice President of Apparel, Laura Janney, retailers were supposed to start offering Forever 21 in the fall, but the launch was accelerated to coincide with the lifting of some restrictions for retailers in Ontario.

Mr. Janney clarified that the brand expected high demand as people are looking to buy new clothes and may have changed sizes either because they exercised more during the pandemic or because they were more inactive due to telework.

“The customer is changing rapidly…and our apparel business really presents a consumer who is getting into what life will be,” said Ms.^me Janney, noting that trends were already noticeable in the provinces where stores have reopened and in online sales.

“We are very optimistic about what people will start doing in Canada in the apparel world and what we believe will happen to us in the coming months. »

Ms^me Janney said the addition of Forever 21 helps Hudson's Bay Company diversify its business and offer apparel aimed at younger customers.

The Hudson's Bay Company plans to eventually offer Forever 21 apparel in several more of its stores across the country.