Pic: Forever 21 - Birmingham Bullring
Ever since I heard that Forever 21 was coming to Blighty, I have to admit I have been pretty excited, but as I said in my blog post for its launch event I would have to see the store in action to fully give my opinion. Well last weekend I went to Birmingham with so much hope that F21 was going to be my new, go-to store, but sadly my fears over quality and pricing came true.
Firstly, considering the rest of Birmingham was crazy with Christmas shopping, the three floors of Forever 21 seemed to be filled with more staff *gossiping about Tinie Tempah stopping by* than actual paying customers. Which was the first shock.
Secondly, the pictures I have above are the only ones I was able to take, as they were outside, as I was told by a very rude sales person that I couldn’t take pictures on my Blackberry. Sad state of affairs to be honest, as the displays that they had up were the only things really going for this brand in the UK – as they were creative and fun.
Thirdly, the pricing doesn’t really seem to reflect the quality, I feel that pricing for fast-fashion, which is how they talk about themselves should be closer to Primark than Topshop, sadly the American dream did not come with them. So be prepared to pay a bit more to cover their import costs.
Fourthly, if like me you are not an xs or even s, then be prepared to ask the many sales people just standing around *or in some cases following you around* to ask where the larger sizes are. It seems like M and L isn’t hot on their to-do list to stock on the shop floor – which is quite annoying.
Fifthly, it seems like they don’t have enough stock, as I found the same items in fourth different areas of the store, I get it put it nearer the door and then further back, but four times is a little repetition overload.
Sixthly, when I did find things I liked, mainly the Miu Miu inspired pieces, and the limited-edition Disney holiday collection, I was waiting in line to pay, may I add it isn’t like Primark where all tills are utilised this was one slow girl, I was asked to remove all my coat hangers before I got to the till. Apparently, this was to speed things up, but to be honest me struggling to carry my purchases, with my Christmas shopping, isn’t actually the way to impress a paying customer. Seriously, the staff either need more training or they need to look into who they employ.
So in conclusion, I wouldn’t ever buy anything online as my touchy-feely approach to shopping was extremely disappointed, most of the clothing was thin and of poor quality. One of the highlights of the UK launch event were the shoes, unfortunately this is the smallest section of the store, so I was quite disappointed I didn’t get to pick up the Miu Miu platforms *I asked about them – but of course the staff have no clue about the brand*.
I think I will also check it out when I am in Birmingham, or even when it comes to London next year, but to be honest I don’t think I’ll be rushing back or recommending it to my friends!!
