Management in Action: Fast FashionWas Forever $21$ Fast Enough?

Apply the knowledge of management presented in this chapter to the following case. The goal of this activity is to enable you to understand what happened at Forever $21$ by applying theory.

Read the case and answer the questions that follow.

Do Won Chang and Jin Sook Chang arrived in the United States from South Korea in $1981.$ For three years, the married couple worked hard$-$he pumped gas and waited tables, she styled hair$-$and by $1984$ they amassed $$11,$ Go$0$ in savings that they used to purchase a single retail clothing store in Los Angeles. By $2014$ they were billionaires, running one of the most recognizable fashion retailers in the world$-$Forever $21.{?}^1$ And as they required of even their most senior executives, you can call them Mr$.$ and Mrs$.$ Chang. $2$

FAST FASHION, FAST GROWTH

Forever $21$ was a pioneer in fast fashion. Under this model, companies produce and sell on$-$trend clothing quickly and cheaply, making most current styles affordable and accessible to a wide range of consumers. Fast fashion is inexpensive and customers have little expectation for quality. Instead, the imperative is to get of$-$the$-$moment styles into consumers' hands within weeks or even days of the trends first appearing on reality TV or influencers' social media accounts. ${?}^3$ Forever $21$ was a massive success, and the company grew very big, very quickly. At one point Forever $21$ had almost $500$ stores in the United States and more than $800$ stores globally. ${?}^4$ As the so$-$called retail apocalypse took even the most established brick$-$and$-$mortar brands out one$-$by$-$one, Forever $21$ leaned in$.$ Eventually, having a Forever $21$ store became a virtual requirement for any struggling mall that wanted a chance at survival. $5$

CONTROL PROBLEMS

What was it like to work in the upper echelons of such a massive and successful company? Former executives paint a picture of a tightly run ship. The inner circle of executives consisted of the Changs, their daughters Esther and Linda, and their close friends, married couple Alex and Seong Eun Kim Ok$.$ Over the years only a handful of other close confidants