Is this the end of Forever 21? How owners Chang Do-won "Don" and Chang Jin-sook rose to become billionaires – then lost their fortune
Citing a too-fast approach to fast fashion, the company has closed stores all over the world and filed for Chapter 11, but the Korean-American owners remain millionaires
In just five years, Korean-born American business mogul and founder of Forever 21 Chang Do-won "Don" and his wife, Chang Jin-sook, have earned and lost their billionaire status. In the whirlwind of fast fashion, the pair went from rags to super-rich, but now, they are waking up from the American dream.
Chang comes from a humble background. He was born in Myeong-Dong, a village in Seoul, South Korea, on March 20, 1954. In 1981, he and his wife immigrated to the US. When they first arrived in the country, they hardly knew any English and had only a high school diploma.
Chang was working three jobs to make a living – he would work at a coffee house in the morning, pump gas in the afternoon and help out in a clothing store in the evening. However, Chang noticed that “the people who drove the nicest cars were all in the garment business”, so he knew he wanted to eventually open his own clothing store.
In 1984, the Changs opened their first 900-square-feet store with their US$11,000 savings in the Highland Park area in Los Angeles. Fellow Korean immigrants in the neighbourhood would come to this little store – then called Fashion 21 – to purchase clothes. Little did anyone know, that small family-run shop would later turn into a fast-fashion empire with more than 800 stores in 57 countries.
Because of the right marketing strategy and the Changs hard work, Fashion 21’s sales took off. The clientele soon grew beyond the Korean community and the store recorded US$700,000 in revenue the first year.
On the back of the big success of the first store, Chang started a rapid expansion of the fast-fashion chain – there was a new store opened every six months. Chang had also changed the store name to Forever 21.
Forever 21 has always been and is most likely to remain a privately-held family business. Chang’s two Ivy League-educated daughters, Linda and Esther Chang, head the company’s marketing and visual display department. “It’s important my daughters learn from the hard work my wife and I put into this company,” said Chang. “Who better to look out for your best interests than family?”