Forever21 Gets Even Cheaper: F21 Red Opens in South Gate, California

FIRST F21 Red Store Opens at the Azalea Shopping Center

Yesterday outside of Los Angeles Forever 21 opened a new store called F21 Red in South Gate, California.  So what’s F21 Red all about?  It’s a huge store  in the  Azalea Shopping Center not far from Downtown Los Angeles.  The store offers a 18,000 square feet retail space and claims to sell  the lowest priced pieces from  Forever 21’s fashion line. That means prices start at an unbelievably low $1.80 for trendy apparel and accessories.   How can anyone make clothes and sell them for under $2.00?   I hate to throw cold water on something being marketed as an amazing deal, but Forever21 has been accused of unfair labor practices in the past and stories in both the Huffington Post and Business Insider documented those charges.

According to a 2012 story in Business Insider, “Up to 30 percent of the store’s offerings are still made in Southern California. One Los Angeles factory worker told Bloomberg BusinessWeek she was paid 12 cents a piece to sew vests that sell for $13.80. It would take 67 vests an hour to earn $8 minimum wage.”  “Since 2008, our investigators have identified dozens of manufacturers producing goods for Forever 21 under sweatshop-like conditions,” said Ruben Rosalez, regional administrator for the  US Department of Labor division in the West in a 2012 press release.