Forever 21 left Japan three times — the third relaunch lasted under three years

Forever 21 first came to Japan in 2000 with the San-ai Group and withdrew; it returned in 2009 with its own subsidiary, growing to about twenty stores in the fast-fashion boom, then withdrew in October 2019 after the US parent filed for bankruptcy. When the investment funds owning the brand and Itochu acquired the Japanese sales rights in 2022, Andesty HD — formerly Adastria — relaunched the brand in spring 2023: roughly eighty percent of the first collection designed for Japan, pitched as a break from the fast-fashion image.

The relaunch never turned profitable, and in March 2025 the US operator filed for Chapter 11 a second time, freezing design and product supply to Japan. On 30 September 2025 Andesty HD announced the withdrawal: it judged profitability 'difficult', with ZARA, SHEIN and GU squeezing the space in between; the impact on its own earnings was expected to be minor.

The wind-down ran fast. Stores closed on 28 September (Kyoto Porta, Aeon Mall Otaka, LaLaport Kadoma) and 30 September (Amu Plaza Nagasaki); the last, LaLaport TOKYO-BAY, shut on 13 October 2025, and the official online store closed at noon on 17 October, with remaining products carried on the andST platform and ZOZOTOWN. The business formally ends by February 2026 — Forever 21's third exit from Japan.