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Fast-fashion clothing chain Forever 21 is reportedly getting ready to shutter hundreds of locations as it considers filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. If it does, it would be the second wave of mass store closings and second bankruptcy that the chain has undergone in less than six years. Heres what you need to know about Forever 21s reported closures. Forever 21 may close 200 storesor all of them This week, Bloomberg reported that Forever 21 may close 200 locations in the United States as part of a potential second bankruptcy process that the retailer is considering. If Forever 21 can’t find a buyer during the bankruptcy process, the chain would reportedly close all of its remaining U.S. stores. The situation mirrors what’s been happening with the fabric-and-crafts chain Joann, which is in the process of trying to find a buyer and may be forced to go out of business if it is unsuccessful. A count on Forever 21s store locator tool reveals that is has 359 stores in the United States. Forever 21s intellectual property is owned by brand management firm Authentic Brands Group, while its operations are run by Catalyst Brands, a joint venture operated by retail group SPARC and, as of this month, JCPenney. Catalyst Brands owns other retailers including Aéropostale, Brooks Brothers, Eddie Bauer, Lucky Brand, and Nautica. Last month, it said publicly that it was “exploring strategic operations” for Forever 21. Fast Company reached out to Forever 21 and Catalyst Brands for comment. Catalyst Brands has not confirmed that it will initiate bankruptcy proceedings for Forever 21. In a statement provided to Bloomberg, the company said, Forever 21s operating company, which is the brand licensee in the U.S., continues to explore strategic options, including a potential sale, while also reducing costs and optimizing its store footprint. The efforts are ongoing and no final decisions regarding the outcome of the process have been made. Forever on the brink Forever 21 has been struggling for years with slowing sales, a weakening brand image, and increased competition from online retailers. In September 2019, the chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. At the time, the company said it would be closing about 350 of its 800 stores worldwide. Less than six months later, it was announced that two of Forever 21s biggest landlords, Simon Property Group and Brookfield Property Partners, were teaming up with Authentic Brands Group to buy the struggling chain for $81 million. But since then, Forever 21 has continued to face existential pressures, including declining foot traffic and the rise of online fast fashion retailers like Temu and Shein. In 2023, Forever 21 entered a partnership with Shein that allowed its clothes to be sold on the Chinese shopping platform and saw Sheins clothing being sold in Forever 21 stores. Still, the partnership doesn’t seem to have been enough to turn Forever 21s fortunes around. Shein is more popular than ever, while Forever 21 still continues to struggle with much of the same pressures it has for years. Forever 21 did not respond to a request for more information about a potential bankruptcy timeline or which locations might be closed. We will update this post if we hear back. However, as Bloomberg notes, if Forever 21 does file for bankruptcy and go out of business it will not affect Authentic Brands Groups ownership of the brand’s IP. The publication reports that Authentic already plans to license the Forever 21 brand to other parties.
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E-Commerce
The layoffs of roughly 7,000 IRS probationary workers beginning this week likely mean the end of the agency’s plan to go after high-wealth tax dodgers and could spell disaster for revenue collections, experts say.The majority of employees shown the door at the federal tax collector are newly hired workers focused on compliance, which includes ensuring that taxpayers are abiding by the tax code and paying delinquent debts, among other duties.The IRS layoffs, one of the largest purges of probationary workers this year across the government, could also hurt customer service and tax return processing during tax season this year, the union representing Treasury Department employees warned Thursday.The upheaval comes less than two months before the tax filing deadline and as the Department of Government Efficiency under Trump adviser Elon Musk seeks to shrink the size of the federal workforce in an effort to radically cut spending and restructure the government’s priorities.Vanessa Williamson, a senior fellow at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, said on a Thursday call with reporters that the layoffs at the IRS will disproportionately harm enforcement efforts.“When you underpay and understaff the IRS, the agency doesn’t have the power or the resources it needs to go after wealthy tax evaders with their high priced lawyers,” she said, adding, “The result is, of course, a disaster for revenue.”The Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2022, gave the IRS $80 billion and the ability to hire tens of thousands of new employees to help with customer service and enforcement as well as new technology to update the tax collection agency, though congressional Republicans later clawed back some of the money.Former IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel, appointed by Biden, placed a particular focus on aggressively auditing high-income tax cheats as well as executives who use business aircraft for their personal use while still writing it off as a tax expense and wealthy people who sought to get favorable tax treatment through Puerto Rico without meeting certain tax requirements.A Congressional Budget Office report issued last year describes how rescissions in funding for the IRS affect baseline projections of future revenues, offering a variety of scenarios depending on the severity of the cuts.A $5 billion rescission would reduce revenues by $5.2 billion from 2024 to 2034 and increase the deficit by $0.2 billion. A $20 billion rescission would reduce revenues by $44 billion and increase the deficit by $24 billion for the same period. A $35 billion rescission would reduce revenues by $89 billion and increase the cumulative deficit by $54 billion.“If you starve the IRS, you’ll be providing a feast for the tax evaders,” Williamson said.Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said during his confirmation hearing last month that “we do not have a revenue problem in the United States of America, we have a spending problem.”However, both revenues and spending will be an ongoing point of contention for congressional Republicans, who are trying to come up with how to pay for extending provisions of President Donald Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The Penn Wharton Budget model estimates that permanently extending Trump’s tax cuts would increase deficits by $4 trillion over the next decade.Chye-Ching Huang, executive director of NYU’s Tax Law Center, called the layoffs “misguided” and said they “will hurt everyday Americans who pay their taxes and count on the IRS to pay refunds on time while encouraging wealthy people and large businesses to cheat on their taxes.”Doreen Greenwald, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, said: “In the middle of a tax filing season, when taxpayers expect prompt customer service and smooth processing of their tax returns, the administration has chosen to decimate the whole operation by sending dedicated civil servants to the unemployment lines.”The union representing IRS workers has already filed multiple legal challenges over the administration’s mass layoffs.Mark Mazur, a former assistant secretary for tax policy at Treasury, said that since most of the laid-off workers were in the IRS’ small business and self-employment division, employees who had handled bigger corporate enforcement cases will be forced to stop their work and handle easier small-business cases.“For sure this mean less enforcement activity,” and the deterrence effect of audits will be diminished, he said.Representatives from Treasury, the IRS and the White House did not respond to Associated Press requests for comment on Thursday. Associated Press writer Josh Boak in Washington contributed to this report. Fatima Hussein, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
I was watching comedian and political commentator Bill Maher talk about Reverse Improvement (RI), and it struck me how profoundly relevant this idea is to the leadership challenges highlighted in this article and the themes weve explored in my upcoming book, TRANSCEND: Unlocking Humanity in the Age of AI. Reverse Improvement, as Maher describes it, occurs when technological progress unintentionally diminishes core human skills and values. Mahers idea of RI isnt just about clunky tech updates or frustrating software upgradesits about a much larger, more insidious phenomenon: how technological advancements can subtly, and sometimes drastically, lead to the erosion of fundamental human skills and values. The concept of RI highlights a key dilemma facing leaders in the age of AI: When does technological progress stop being an improvement and start becoming a regression? As AI and automation handle tasks once dependent on human creativity, intuition, and problem-solving, we risk outsourcing not just labor but also our intellectual and emotional core. RI warns us of this subtle decaya decline that happens not in obvious ways but slowly, through overreliance on tools meant to help us. As AI transforms the workplace, its easy to view automation as a form of progress. But if AI makes us less self-aware, less creative, and less empathetic, are we truly improving? Or are we succumbing to RIreplacing meaningful human effort with efficiency at the cost of long-term growth? This tension is exactly why mindful leadership, grounded in principles like self-awareness, right intention, and resilience, is more important than ever. AI, Reverse improvement, and the risks of dependency Not all technological upgrades lead to better outcomes. Many improvements, particularly in the context of AI, can unintentionally diminish the very skills that made us successful in the first place. A leader who once relied on keen observation and strategic thinking may, over time, rely on AI-generated insights without questioning their validity. An employee who once developed persuasive narratives may now rely on AI to draft content, losing the ability to connect ideas creatively. This erosion of skills is why leaders must maintain mindfulness in how they integrate AI into their workflows. Mindfulness, as taught by Eastern and Buddhist philosophy, emphasizes the importance of being present, aware, and intentional. Leaders who embody these qualities recognize when AI is genuinely enhancing their abilities versus when its causing stagnation. Reverse Improvement occurs when leaders fail to pause and evaluate whether technological progress aligns with long-term human development. AI may offer convenience, but convenience can come at the cost of resilience, problem-solving, and self-reflectionskills critical to effective leadership. Recognizing when AI helps vs. when it hurts We dont lose skills all at oncewe lose them gradually, as dependency on AI subtly erodes our mental muscles. Self-awareness, a core tenet of mindfulness, helps leaders recognize when this erosion is happening. Self-aware leaders evaluate whether they are engaging with AI as a tool or relying on it as a crutch.For example, a marketing leader who once crafted compelling campaigns may now rely on AI-driven algorithms to optimize strategies. Without self-awareness, they may stop developing their storytelling abilities, assuming the AI will always know best. But self-aware leaders pause, reflect, and ask: Am I still growing, or am I letting AI take over my creative instincts? Action Plan: Leaders should integrate mindfulness practices directly into their daily routines and team interactions. This can include short reflective meetings where leaders and teams pause to evaluate decisions and their alignment with long-term goals. Additionally, conducting regular assessments of AI’s role within workflows will ensure leaders remain in control, using AI to complement rather than override human judgment. By fostering an environment of ongoing reflection, leaders can continuously recalibrate their strategies to balance innovation with intentional decision-making. Leading with purpose, not automation for automations sake Purpose-driven leadership ensures that leaders consider the ethical, human, and long-term consequences of their decisions. RI occurs when leaders pursue technological upgrades without questioning their value beyond short-term productivity gains. AI should free up human potential for higher-order tasks, such as creative problem-solving and relationship-building. However, when AI is implemented without the right intention, it can lead to the opposite effectde-skilling employees and fostering dependency. Leaders with the right intention ask: How does this technology enhance, rather than replace, human growth? Action Step: Leaders should develop a structured framework for evaluating new AI tools by integrating key criteria such as ethical considerations, employee impact, long-term strategic alignment, innovation potential, and risk management. This framework should assess the tools ability to foster creativity and innovation while identifying potential operational disruptions, ethical risks, and unintended consequences. To ensure comprehensive evaluation, governance protocols should be established to monitor compliance with organizational policies, data privacy standards, and ethical guidelines. In addition, diverse stakeholders across departments should be involved to assess both short-term efficiency gains and long-term human development outcomes. By embedding periodic reviews of AIs effectiveness, leaders can balance technological progress with sustainable, human-centered growth while mitigating risks and driving continuous innovation. Building human strengths alongside technological progress Resilience in leadership means embracing change without losing core strengths. Technological progress can undermine resilience when we allow machines to do the hard work that builds character and cognitive stamina. Leaders who embrace resilience understand that problem-solving, creativity, and emotional intelligence are developed through struggle, effort, and reflectionnot instant solutions.AI can certainly assist with repetitive tasks, but leaders must ensure that the hard, growth-oriented work of leadership remains intact. For example, instead of relying solely on AI to analyze market trends, resilient leaders involve their teams in brainstorming sessions to sharpen their strategic thinking. Action Step: Leaders can prioritize activities that involve manual problem-solving, creative brainstorming, and team collaboration. These exercises help maintain and strengthen cognitive and strategic thinking abilities, preventing skill atrophy in a tech-driven world. Resilience also requires leaders to create a culture that values learning through experience. Rather than shielding teams from challenges by automating solutions, resilient leaders encourage problem-solving, risk-taking, and adaptive learning. By facing difficultieshead-on, teams can strengthen their critical thinking and innovation skills. Balancing AI and humanity: Avoiding RI through the middle way Buddhist philosophys middle way teaches us to avoid extremes and seek balance. In the context of AI and RI, this means integrating technology thoughtfully, ensuring that it complements human effort rather than replacing it. The key to leadership in a tech-driven world is not to reject AI, but to integrate it in ways that amplify human strengths while preserving creativity, empathy, and resilience. Leaders who follow the Middle Way avoid the extremes of either over-relying on AI or rejecting its benefits entirely. They understand that technology can enhance human potential, but only when used with mindful intention and purpose. From reverse improvement to mindful progress Technological progress sometimes can be deceptive. What appears to be an upgrade may, in fact, be a step backward if it causes us to detach from our core human capacities. True progress isn’t measured by how much we automate or accelerateit’s measured by how much we grow, both individually and collectively. Mindful leaders will recognize that AI is a tool, not a replacement for human creativity and judgment. We must remain devoted to creating a future where technological innovation drives genuine improvementnot just in productivity but in the development of resilient, purposeful, and empathetic individuals.
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E-Commerce
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