LOS ANGELES, United States — Before the fight with Ariana Grande, before spreading to seemingly every mall in America, before today's crop of Instagram influencers were even born, Forever 21 Inc. thrived by helping teen girls dress like pop stars on the cheap. As it faces an uncertain financial future, it's going to need help from a very different type of shopper: one with disposable income.

The retailer filed for bankruptcy protection on Sunday, and its turnaround plan relies on luring in shoppers who are actually willing to buy clothes at full price — one of the most elusive clientele in the industry.

These “high spender” customers, as it calls them, would be an attractive antidote to its reliance on deep discounts to attract teen shoppers paying with allowances. But it’s no easy feat for a retailer to change its core business model, especially when even the company’s name suggests it’s not a brand built for mature patrons ages 22 and up.

“It’s going to be hard to all of a sudden cast a wider net and appeal to a more sophisticated customer overnight,” said Stacey Widlitz, president of SW Retail Advisors. “That’s going to be a long process that I don’t know they have time to take on.”

If Forever 21 can pull off a resurgence with older shoppers — and the odds, analysts say, are long — the shift would mark nothing less than a revolution for a brand built on the cheap-chic appeal of so-called fast fashion.

Fast Fashion

Forever 21 isn’t the first teen retailer to find itself in this situation. Most younger-leaning retailers struggle to hold onto their customer base as shoppers start making their own salaries and maturing into business attire and better fits, two categories teen retailers aren’t necessarily known for. A slew of bankruptcies over the past several years by teen rivals Charlotte Russe, Wet Seal, American Apparel and Aeropostale illustrate just how challenging it is to get it right.

Teen retail is the “toughest market out there,” Widlitz said. “That’s why we’ve seen so many store closings in that space. That customer is a very difficult one to walk back up to full price.”

Los Angeles-based Forever 21, founded 35 years ago by husband-and-wife duo Jin Sook Chang and Do Won Chang, rose to prominence by being the go-to place for teenagers to buy in-vogue, disposable outfits that wouldn't break the bank. It was America's answer to the wave of European fast-fashion companies like H&M and Inditex's Zara that quickly respond to trends and get merchandise from warehouse to racks far faster than traditional retailers.

It's going to be hard to all of a sudden cast a wider net and appeal to a more sophisticated customer overnight.

That model has its appeal, especially with young shoppers who want to dress like their favourite influencers without a wait. And the brand hasn’t fallen out of favour with those core customers. Despite teens’ ever-changing tastes, they consistently rank the apparel brand as a favourite, according to Piper Jaffray’s semiannual survey.

“Forever 21’s repositioning will enable the company to continue to be the leader in fast-fashion, a fashion movement which Mr. Chang and Ms. Chang started in 1984, and continue delivering the curated assortment of fast fashion trends and merchandise that our customers expect from Forever 21,” a company spokeswoman said in a statement. “We have an incredibly strong and loyal customer base and social following that has continued to champion for Forever 21.”

‘Someone’s Closet’

Global sales of $3.1 billion for the year ended in July are about $1 billion lower than they were in 2014, but stateside, they remain pretty strong. Store checks on Monday around Manhattan showed long checkout lines and a diverse crowd of shoppers, primarily teenagers — or adults with kids in tow.

Largely missing, however, were young adult shoppers in their late 20s and 30s. For that demographic, “it hurts your brain to go in there. It’s like being in someone’s closet,” said Gabriella Santaniello, founder of retail consulting firm A Line Partners. “The older customer used to shop there, but then it became un-shoppable. But they cannot only rely on the teenagers.”

Frederick Forby, 27, was one such millennial shopper — the demographic Forever 21 is desperate to attract back — browsing the racks at the Times Square location on Monday afternoon. The Baltimore resident, visiting New York City as a tourist, said it’s really the price point and convenience that draws him in.

“I shop at Forever 21 about twice a month. It’s not really my go-to store; I normally come here when I want to find a cute outfit quickly,” he said. “The clothes usually last for a couple of washes, they fit well, I have no problem with it.”

Their messaging is 'we're Forever 21 and we're a fast fashion retailer.'

But he’d rather shop at second-hand stores, he said, where the quality is better and the merchandise is more unique. And he’s not alone: Younger shoppers, just coming into their spending power, are turning to reused clothing at the quickest pace, according to Thredup’s 2019 Resale Report.

New Messaging

As part of its turnaround, Forever 21 has already said it plans to shut down some 178 domestic outlets of its approximately 800 total stores, after having expanded dramatically outside the US and into large retail spaces. Its quick response to fashion trends often led to massive volumes of inventory and unorganised stores, which has brought on headaches for those potential higher-spending customers.

But to appeal more to the young professional, Forever 21 will also have to hone its advertising, Santaniello said. “Their messaging is we’re Forever 21 and we’re a fast fashion retailer,” she said. They “have to reach out to their customer and find out why their customer was not coming back.”

Part of its plan to reel in high-spending customers is to invest in targeted advertising on social media platforms, align its marketing and merchandising approach and reach out to customers who used to shop at the store but don't anymore, court papers show. It already has a sizable social media following with 16 million Instagram followers, which is more than Gap, J.Crew and Abercrombie & Fitch combined.

Teen rivals doing better, like American Eagle Outfitters Inc., have stayed relevant by expanding into lingerie, offering higher quality jeans and finding creative ways to encourage shoppers into stores, like installing washing machines and adding customisation stations. Forever 21 says it will consider launching customer loyalty and credit cards as well.

But for Piers Fawkes, founder of PSFK, a retail research company, it may be too little, too late.

“That’s what people were talking about five years ago,” he said. “That doesn’t even allow you to be competitive. That just allows you to be a retailer.”

By Jordyn Holman, with assistance from Donald Moore, Eliza Ronalds-Hannon; editors: Anne Riley Moffat, Alistair Barr.