US fashion chain to take on Primark's might in UK

London: Forever 21 shoppers are young, grabby and fast, zooming through the Beverly Hills store on heels, their fingers ripping clothes from racks like birds swooping for fish.

This is the American fashion chain run as a family business, the chain that, thanks to its "pile very high, sell very cheap" operation, has been a phenomenal success, with profits (in 2008) of $135 million (Dh495 million) despite the fact that nothing it sells costs more than $65. This is the chain whose founder, Do Won "Don" Chang, is worth $1 billion; the chain that, having conquered America and the Far East, is this month finally coming to London.

"Florals, Festivals and Feminine," says 29-year-old marketing manager Linda Chang, the public face of the notoriously private family, pointing out trends as she strides among the bulging rails of playsuits and denim; her Chanel bag clangs against her Balmain-clad arm and Forever 21 jeans. There are fringed vests and one-shoulder dresses and slogan T-shirts, all under $20. "But it's not about prices. It's not a gimmick for us," says Linda. "It's about value."

Stretching over 45,000 sq ft, the Beverly Hills store feels vast and church-like, calm but for the customers, who rarely look at price tags before snatching down a dress, and who all emerge with swollen plastic bags. Few bargain brands inspire such a following. And it's a brand that started humbly.

Humble beginnings

Don Chang and his wife Jin Sook emigrated to California from South Korea in 1981, when he was 18. While working in an LA petrol station he noticed the most expensive cars were driven by fashion retailers. Three years later, blocks away from the one-bedroom flat where he brought up with his daughters, Linda and Esther, Chang opened his first shop. "I feel truly blessed by Forever 21's success," he says today. "Forever 21 is my American Dream."

While the business grew, with sales climbing from $35,000 to $700,000 in the first year, 11 stores opening within five years and a further 440 opening across the world, this shop, a half-hour drive from the Beverly Hills store, remains the same. Where the Beverly Hills store is white and soaring, the Korea town shop is dim-lit and jumbled. While still a working shop, it seems to exist as a museum for the brand.

The air-conditioning over the doors pumps through a steady smell of sweat; the carpet, once beige, is a mottled charcoal. I ask Linda why they don't clean the carpet. "It's almost historical," she said. "We want to keep the integrity."

The brand's integrity has been tested regularly, with various lawsuits seemingly being settled quietly out of court. The company says its buyers simply trust their vendors not to copy other labels' designs. "I have in the past overly trusted people and was, in turn, let down by some," Chang said. "Since then I have learned the difference between putting faith into people and blindly trusting them."

"Their design is swathed in mystery," said professor of copyright law Susan Scafidi. "But it probably looks a bit like a crime scene, with the chalk outlines of the garments they're copying."

While retail analyst Sarah Peters said their US success is down to low prices and a high turnover, she thinks it will be trickier for Forever 21 to establish itself in the UK. The acquisition of its new flagship store, an old HMV, on London's Oxford Street is a good move, she believes, but "the value market is growing at a slower rate in the UK than in the US, so it might have trouble. Primark dominates the sector, while with New Look and HM there's some tough competition." Could this be the brand to topple Primark?