The Mall at Prince Georges announced yet another new tenant coming as part of the shopping center’s transformation: Forever 21.
The Hyattsville mall is expected to add an 8,000-square-foot location for the fast-fashion retailer in late 2019, according to a press release from the mall’s owners. It will be the first Forever 21 in Prince George’s County.
“Forever 21 marks another milestone in the robust remerchandising efforts at MPG (Mall at Prince Georges), where PREIT has undertaken a multi-million dollar investment to reimagine the shopper experience,” the company statement said.
A closely held U.S. company, Forever 21 has long sought to compete more directly with much larger Swedish-owned rival H&M, which opened a 20,000-square-foot location at the Prince Georges mall in 2016.
Known for selling $9 T shirts that come pretty close to their high fashion counterparts, Forever 21 locations actually tend to be right in the middle of the pack when it comes to typical customers at a store by education and household income. (According to this chart, they are very comparable to Gymboree, the upscale children’s clothing chain.)
Other locations in the D.C. area are in upscale shopping centers such as Tyson’s, Bethesda, Georgetown and Pentagon City.
Forever 21’s expansion to Hyattsville is a sign that the mall’s rebranding is working and a reminder of the importance of some recent high-profile additions to the Route 1 corridor such as the Whole Foods at Riverdale Park Station.
Retailers pay attention to their rivals’ decisions about where to locate, and a single H&M can lead to companies like Ulta Beauty and Forever 21 to move in next door.