Last fall, home-grown retailer Forever 21 announced it was filing for bankruptcy and would be closing 178 stores nationally, 12 of which were in Los Angeles County. At that time, the retailer had 25 stores in the county. The retailer had fallen on hard times in recent years, likely the result of overly aggressive expansion plans, ineffective e-commerce strategies and customers shifting away from purchasing inexpensive and disposable apparel towards more thoughtful, sustainable consumption.