Forever 21 is an American fast-fashion label — party tops, dresses, jeans and accessories at four-figure prices — founded in Los Angeles in 1984 and sold in India from 2010. For nine of those years an Aditya Birla company ran it here under licence.
On 11 September 2026 the brand’s Indian shopfront carried one message and nothing else: “We regret to inform you that FOREVER 21 has been shut down as operations in India have been discontinued.” No catalogue, no store locator, no date on the notice. The footer reads © 2025 All Rights Reserved. Aditya Birla Group.
The same day, 403 listings sat under the Forever 21 name on Myntra, and the declaration on half the records read there named Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited, which held the licence until the Forever 21 business passed to Aditya Birla Lifestyle Brands on 1 May 2025.
Forever 21 India was a licence, never a shareholding. Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail bought exclusive franchise rights for the Indian market on 1 July 2016, for a reported US$26 million, impaired ₹64.38 crore against the business on 30 September 2024, took a ₹98 crore exceptional loss in FY2024-25 and shut the shops.
On 11 September 2026 the marketplace carried 403 listings, charging 71.3% of MRP with 98 of 100 reduced across 100 listings read, at a median price of ₹1,439.
Snapshot
- Founded
- 1984, Los Angeles, USA, as Fashion 21
- Founders
- Do Won Chang and Jin Sook Chang
- Headquarters
- Los Angeles, USA
- Current owner of the brand
- Authentic Brands Group, which announced the purchase with Simon Property Group and Brookfield Property Partners on 19 February 2020 and is named as the brand’s owner in its own 2025 announcements
- India rights, 2016 to 2025
- An exclusive franchise held by Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited from 1 July 2016; the undertaking passed to Aditya Birla Lifestyle Brands Limited on 1 May 2025
- India shopfront
- A shutdown notice, as at 11 September 2026
- Category
- Apparel — women’s and men’s fast fashion, with accessories
- Price band in India
- Mid-range. Median ₹1,439 across 100 Myntra listings, 11 September 2026
- Available in India
- No brand shopfront. forever21.abfrl.in serves a shutdown notice; 403 marketplace listings remain, 11 September 2026
- Declared country of origin
- India on 28 of 40 records read, China on 11, Vietnam on 1
- Net quantity line
- Not displayed on the 40 listings read
How Forever 21 came to India
The brand entered India in 2010, by ABFRL’s own account, run by a local franchisee. When Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail moved in, it bought that franchisee’s business rather than starting one.
On 25 May 2016 the group announced a binding memorandum of understanding to acquire “the exclusive online and offline rights to the Forever 21 brand for the Indian market, plus the existing store network in India” from Diana Retail Private Limited, the then franchisee. Completion came on 1 July 2016, through a business transfer agreement to which Diana Retail and DLF Brands were parties.
The price was reported at US$26 million, about ₹175.52 crore — a trade-press figure carried on the group’s own media-reports page, not one the company announced.
What the accounts do say is what was bought. The notes to ABFRL’s accounts describe the acquisition of 1 July 2016 as “exclusive franchise rights for the Indian market”. That is a licence to trade somebody else’s American mark in one country. No Aditya Birla company ever owned the name.
- Diana Retail Private LimitedFranchisee until 2016; 12 stores at handover
- Aditya Birla Fashion and RetailBuys exclusive franchise rights, 1 July 2016
- Aditya Birla Lifestyle BrandsTakes the closed business, 1 May 2025
- 11 September 2026Indian shopfront shows a shutdown notice
That is the Indian history of the brand on the record: one franchisee, one buyer, one demerger, and a closure.
The licence term, the royalty and the renewal mechanism were never disclosed. The only public description of the arrangement is a general line in Aditya Birla Lifestyle Brands’ information memorandum of 19 June 2025: “The international brands distributed by us are not owned by us and are sold pursuant to long term agreements with brand owners.”
The shops grew slowly and then stopped being counted: 12 when the deal was announced in May 2016, 15 by February 2017, “over 20” in January 2021. That last count is more than five years old.
A licence, not a shareholding
Forever 21 is the fourth Aditya Birla name on this site, after Wrogn, where an ABFRL company holds a published 32.84%, Bewakoof at 99.03% through the group’s TMRW platform, and House of Masaba at 61.81%. Those three are shareholdings. This one never was.
The difference decides who answers for the clothes. A group that owns shares is still there when the label has a bad year. A licensee can hand the rights back, and then the brand has no Indian address at all.
The Indian shops have closed. What remains on sale here is stock already in the country.
With the Indian shops closed, treat what is on sale here as residual stock sold by marketplace sellers, not as a brand’s own shop.
How the India business ended
The wind-down started in the December 2024 quarter. Vishak Kumar, deputy managing director and chief executive of Aditya Birla Lifestyle Brands, told an earnings call on 5 November 2025: “We had started scaling down F21 last year itself from Q3.”
Just before that, on 30 September 2024, management recognised an impairment provision of ₹64.38 crore against the Forever 21 business, writing off the goodwill carried on the deal since 2017. The shops closed during FY2024-25. ABFRL’s chief financial officer, Jagdish Bajaj, told the results call of 26 May 2025 that revenue “was marginally impacted by the closure of Forever 21’s offline operations”, and put the exceptional loss on the discontinued operations at ₹98 crore, on top of roughly ₹50 crore of operating losses inside reported earnings.
The demerger then moved a business that had already stopped trading. Forever 21 sat inside the Madura Fashion & Lifestyle undertaking that passed to Aditya Birla Lifestyle Brands on 1 May 2025. Its managing director, Ashish Dikshit, told investors on 14 August 2025 that “the total revenue difference is not material in the overall scheme of things”.
- 1 July 2016Exclusive franchise rights bought, reported at US$26 million
- 30 September 2024₹64.38 crore impaired against the business
- FY2024-25Shops closed; ₹98 crore exceptional loss
- 1 May 2025The closed business moves to Aditya Birla Lifestyle Brands
- 7 May 2026The FY26 results name the brand nowhere
Dates from company filings and announcements; the US$26 million figure is a press report.
The filings show the brand dropping out of the reporting. A stock exchange filing of 6 February 2026 was still netting the brand out of the comparison — “excluding Forever 21 in the base, growth was even higher at 19%”. The FY26 results announcement of 7 May 2026 does not mention it at all: the brand list runs Louis Philippe, Van Heusen, Allen Solly, Peter England, American Eagle, Reebok and the innerwear business, on revenue of ₹8,396 crore across 3,348 stores. The notes to the FY26 accounts carry no Forever 21 either.
What Forever 21 costs in India
There is no Indian price list any more, because there is no Indian shop. Every price a buyer can see is a marketplace price for stock already in the country.
Read on 11 September 2026, those listings were priced like a clearance. Across 100 listings read the brand collected 71.3% of stated MRP, 98 of the 100 listings were reduced, and the median price charged was ₹1,439. Only 22 distinct MRPs appear, spread over 11 discount steps — pricing by price point, not by garment.
| Reading, 11 September 2026 | Figure |
|---|---|
| Listings under the brand name on Myntra | 403 |
| Share of MRP actually charged | 71.3% |
| Listings reduced, of 100 read | 98 of 100 |
| Median price charged | ₹1,439 |
| Distinct MRPs among the 100 | 22 |
| Distinct discount steps | 11 |
No like-for-like comparison against a foreign price was taken for this audit, and none is offered. Converting an American shelf price into rupees would compare two different garments in two different seasons, which tells a buyer nothing.
What the origin declaration does to the duty argument
There is a better test, printed on the listing itself. Of the 40 declaration blocks read in full, 28 give the country of origin as India, 11 as China and one as Vietnam. Seven in ten of the records read say the garment was made here.
Import duty is the usual explanation for a foreign brand costing more here than abroad. It cannot be the explanation for this one. Duty is charged on the landed value of an imported garment, and a garment made in India never lands. Whatever the Indian price reflects, on seven of ten records it is not customs.
Who answers for the garment
Packaged goods sold in India carry a declaration under the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011, naming the manufacturer or importer and the country of origin.
On the 40 Forever 21 records read in full on 11 September 2026, that block returns 17 different manufacturer or importer names. No field was left blank. Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited appears on 20 of the 40, across three different addresses; the Forever 21 business moved to Aditya Birla Lifestyle Brands on 1 May 2025. A package carries the declaration applied when it was packed, and the listings do not show when these were packed.
Two sellers of record appear: a marketplace display name, Flashtech Retail, on 32 of the 40, and Westbury Holdings Pvt Ltd on 8.
The seller of record is the party a shopper buys from and deals with on a return, whatever brand the listing carries.
Who Forever 21 is actually for
In India, today, it is for someone who likes a particular top at a particular discount and needs nothing else from the brand.
What you get is competent cheap fast fashion at a median ₹1,439 — trend-led cuts, light fabrics, a Western fit block. What you no longer get is a shop to walk into, an exchange counter or a brand office in India to write to. The returns window is the whole of your protection, and it belongs to the marketplace, not to Forever 21.
Anyone who wants the same look from a brand that still trades here is better served elsewhere. H&M and Zara run their own Indian stores at higher prices, and Zudio sits far below on price with hundreds of shops you can return to. Skip Forever 21 if you want after-sales, or a label that will still be stocked next season.
Reputation and controversies
In the United States the company filed for Chapter 11 on 29 September 2019. On 19 February 2020 Authentic Brands Group announced that its purchase of the intellectual property and operating businesses was finalised, with Authentic and Simon Property Group at 37.5% each and Brookfield Property Partners at 25%. Authentic owns the brand today, and its own 2025 announcements call Forever 21 its brand.
The remaining US stores, about 350, closed by the end of April 2025, as reported.
The brand’s own notice to customers limited that wind-down to the United States: “Forever 21 stores outside of the U.S. will continue to operate business as usual.” India’s closure followed its own, earlier timetable under the licensee.
On 17 September 2025 Authentic announced new American partners: Unique Brands for e-commerce and men’s wholesale, Mark Edwards Apparel for womenswear, Kidz Concepts for kidswear. That announcement names no international licensee and does not mention India.
In India this audit found no court ruling, regulatory action, product recall or consumer commission order involving the Forever 21 brand.
No material, fibre-content, sourcing or sustainability claim was found on the brand’s remaining Indian pages. The nearest is a line in Authentic’s 2020 acquisition announcement about working towards “a more sustainable supply chain”, a general statement of intent.
Buying Forever 21 in India
With no authorised Indian shop to check against, read the listing harder.
Read the seller name before the discount
Two sellers carried the listings read on 11 September 2026. The seller of record is who you buy from and who handles a return — no brand office stands behind them here.
Open the declaration block
It names the manufacturer or importer and the country of origin. On 28 of 40 records the origin reads India, so no import duty sits in that price.
Do not expect an exchange
There is no Indian store and no brand customer service. The marketplace’s return window is the entire remedy, so check its dates before you order.
Know the going rate
The listings charged 71.3% of MRP on average, at a median ₹1,439. Use that as the benchmark when comparing a listing’s price.
Treat a very cheap offsite listing as a first copy
A first copy is the Indian term for a counterfeit. With no official shop left here, nothing authenticates a stray social-media seller’s stock — stay on marketplaces that carry the declaration block.
Common questions
Is Forever 21 still available in India?
Not from the brand. The Indian shopfront at forever21.abfrl.in carried a shutdown notice on 11 September 2026 and the shops closed during 2024-25. What remains is existing stock on marketplaces — 403 listings on Myntra on that date.
Did Aditya Birla own Forever 21?
No. Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail bought exclusive franchise rights for India on 1 July 2016 — a licence to sell an American brand here, not a shareholding in it. The rights, and the closed business, passed to Aditya Birla Lifestyle Brands on 1 May 2025.
Who owns the Forever 21 brand now?
Authentic Brands Group, which announced the purchase with Simon Property Group and Brookfield Property Partners in February 2020 and is named as the brand’s owner in its own 2025 announcements.
Why is Forever 21 still on Myntra if it shut down?
Because stock already in the country keeps selling. On 11 September 2026 there were 403 listings, priced at 71.3% of MRP with 98 of 100 reduced among those read. The declarations on 20 of 40 records named Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail.
Are Forever 21 clothes made in India?
Mostly, on the records read. Of 40 listings read in full on 11 September 2026, 28 declared India as the country of origin, 11 China and one Vietnam.
How we research and verify brand audits: our methodology.
References
- Forever 21 India shopfront, read 11 September 2026 — the shutdown notice quoted at the top of this audit
- Aditya Birla Group press release, 25 May 2016 — the binding memorandum of understanding and the exclusive online and offline India rights bought from Diana Retail
- YourStory, 6 July 2016 — completion on 1 July 2016, the business transfer agreement with Diana Retail and DLF Brands, and the US$26 million figure
- Aditya Birla Group media reports page — the reported consideration and the 12 stores at handover
- ABFRL notes to accounts, mirrored — “exclusive franchise rights for the Indian market”, acquired 1 July 2016
- ABFRL press release, 28 February 2017 — entry into India in 2010 and the 15-store network
- FashionNetwork India, 28 January 2021 — “over 20 stores in India”, the last published count
- Aditya Birla Lifestyle Brands, Information Memorandum, 19 June 2025 — the demerger dates, Forever 21 inside the demerged undertaking, and the “not owned by us” line on international brands
- ABLBL FY25 goodwill note, mirrored — the ₹64.38 crore impairment provision recognised on 30 September 2024
- ABFRL Q4 FY25 earnings call transcript, 26 May 2025 — the closure of offline operations, the ₹98 crore exceptional loss and the operating losses inside reported earnings
- ABLBL Q1 FY26 earnings call, 14 August 2025 — the managing director on the size of the brand and the revenue difference
- ABLBL Q2 FY26 earnings call, 5 November 2025 — “we had started scaling down F21 last year itself from Q3”
- ABLBL Q3 FY26 exchange filing, 6 February 2026 — growth reported excluding Forever 21 from the base
- ABLBL Q4 and FY26 results announcement, 7 May 2026 — the brand list, FY26 revenue of ₹8,396 crore and 3,348 stores, with no mention of Forever 21
- ABLBL FY26 notes to accounts, mirrored — no Forever 21 cash-generating unit anywhere in the notes
- Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011 — the declaration a packaged good carries
- Department of Consumer Affairs, Legal Metrology FAQ — the importer’s name and country of origin on an imported product
- Authentic Brands Group, 19 February 2020 — the completed acquisition, the 37.5 / 37.5 / 25 split with Simon and Brookfield, and the supply chain intention
- Retail TouchPoints, 19 September 2025 — Authentic Brands Group named as the owner of the Forever 21 brand
- Forever 21, encyclopaedia entry — the 1984 founding, the 2019 Chapter 11 and the US store closures
- NJBIZ, 2025 — the closure of the American stores by 30 April 2025
- Forever 21 notice to customers — the statement that the process applied only to United States operations
- Authentic Brands Group, 17 September 2025 — the American partner network, with no international licensee and no India mention
As clothes, what is left is fair value. A median of ₹1,439 for a trend-led top, with India declared as the origin on 28 of 40 records read, is a fair fast-fashion price, and on those records there is no import duty in it. If a piece fits and you like it, buy it.
As a brand in India, it had no shop of its own here as at 11 September 2026. Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail bought a licence in 2016, not a stake, and closed the shops in FY2024-25; the closed business passed to Aditya Birla Lifestyle Brands, whose FY26 results do not list the name. The Indian shopfront carries a closing notice, so there is no Indian store or brand service desk to go back to.
Buy the garment on its own merits, and rely on the marketplace’s return window, not on the brand, for after-sales.
