October 22, 2004

Fashion Forever

Trendy US women`s wear label, Forever 21, opened its first Asian outlet in Singapore yesterday. ZUBAIDAH NAZEER finds out more from the company`s founder and CEO, Don Chang

DON Chang could easily have made his homeland, South Korea, his Asian base for his line of women`s wear, Forever 21.

Instead, he chose Singapore.

Why? For its fashion-conscious women, its healthy retail sector and because he thinks it is the fashion capital of Asia, Chang told Streats.

The Singapore outlet, in Wisma Atria`s basement, had its official opening yesterday.

It will be the 195th Forever 21 store there are 191 stores in the US, one in Canada and two in Dubai.

Aspiring entrepreneurs can learn a thing or two from Chang`s success story.

In 1981, aged 24, he went to the US jobless and with his wife in tow.

He had no sewing, tailoring or fashion experience and wasn`t even thinking of starting a retail store at that time.

Armed with only a simple command of English, he found himself taking on jobs such as flipping burgers at fast food joints, working as a janitor and being a petrol attendant.

Three years later, after numerous chats with some garment factory executives who topped up fuel, he decided to plonk his US$11,000 (S$18,400) savings down to start a 83.61sq m store in Los Angeles.

When I arrived in the US, I was impressed by the large assortment of goods available in the shopping malls I visited.

However, because I did not have a lot of money to spend, I was discouraged from actually buying anything.

I realised that there must be countless women in the same situation who wanted to buy beautiful and fashionable clothes but just couldn`t afford to.

To make these women, who did not have much money to spend or who just want great value, happy, I opened Fashion 21, which later became Forever 21, said Chang, who has a team of designers for the Los Angeles-based label.

Targeted at trend-conscious women `regardless of age`, Forever 21 has items ranging from lingerie and sassy halter tops to office wear, such as jackets and trousers.

It also has casual clothes such as T-shirts and sweatshirts.

The average price is about $25.

In the beginning, Chang had to work extra hard, multi-tasking as the store`s buyer, cashier and janitor, he said.

He also roped in his wife, Jin, to help.

His persistence and hard work paid off as sales rose from US$30,000 to US$700,000 at the end of the first year.

Last year`s revenue was more than US$600 million.

Chang, the company`s president and CEO, says that he plans to open 30 to 40 stores a year. We have plans to expand further through Asia, but Singapore is the first stop because it is fast emerging as a fashion capital in the east, he said.

If a brand wants to reach out to the rest of South-east Asia and truly go global, it is important to have a position in Singapore from which to build awareness and a reputation.

Its healthy retail sector and its location as a logistical hub in the region were also pull factors, he said.

Singapore is recognised for its growing fashion scene. The shopping malls here are of a very high quality and there is also a large population of fashion-conscious and trendy young women who are good at picking up and embracing new trends as they come out.

The purchasing population is sophisticated and knowledgeable and they know what they want, much like the women in America.

I won`t be successful until Forever 21 has as many stores and is as pre-eminent a fashion retailer as The Gap, added Chang, referring to the American apparel giant which has more than 3,000 stores in five countries.

I want to be No 1, like them.