Forever 21 Launches Beauty Store Targeting Millennials

Forever 21 has opened Riley Rose, a beauty boutique that's being rolled out at 13 of General Growth Properties' shopping centers across the U.S. The first Riley Rose store opened in Los Angeles earlier this week. The Riley Rose moniker was coined by Linda and Esther Chang, the daughters of Forever 21's founders. While the two have been involved in marketing and visual merchandising at Forever 21, they've long wanted to tap into beauty. Riley Rose has plans to launch its own website this November. The new brand will target millennials, and face competitors such as Ulta, Sephora and Bluemercury.

Total Retail's Take: Facing a challenging market for specialty apparel retail, particularly for brick-and-mortar brands, Forever 21 is trying to diversify its business. With Riley Rose, Forever 21 is testing the beauty sector, a strong performer among retail product categories. Furthermore, beauty is a logical extension of the Forever 21 brand. One would imagine that if the early returns on the limited Riley Rose store rollout are positive, particularly during the holiday shopping season, we could expect Forever 21 to invest in growing the brand's presence in 2018.