10.1.19 Bee-otch of the Day: Forever 21

BECOME AN AFFILIATE OF T-SHIRT HELL AND MAKE SOME MONEY!

Bee-otch of the Day honors are awarded Monday through Thursday; Bee-otch of the Week is awarded Sunday morning on Chuck69.com.

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Name: Forever 21
Age: 35
Occupation: retailer
Last Seen: Los Angeles, CA
Bee-otched For: going under
 

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Once upon a time, there was a place were people went to that brought joy to them.

They were big, giant places loaded with stores, restaurants, movie theaters and some even had a carousel for the kids. Some were one story, some had two and some were even three or four stories tall. And most of them had acres of free parking.

Yes, we're talking about the great American shopping mall. For decades, they were the place people went to on a Saturday afternoon to relax and, well, shop. But thanks to the internet, many malls are turning into ghost towns. Here in America, the last mall was built in 2006. And even that mall, Pittsburgh Mills is almost empty.

In the last few years alone, many mall staples like Charlotte Russe, Payless ShoeSource and Deb have gone up to that big mall in the sky. Others, like Aeropostale, Pacific Sunwear and Sears have closed multiple locations due to bankruptcy. But other stores deserve to close simply because they are owned by assholes.

On Sunday, it was announced that trendy clothing retailer Forever 21 was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The chain plans to close 178 of its 800 stores.

Here in Grand Rapids, Forever 21 has two locations: Tanger Outlets and the remodeling Woodland Mall. They also have a location at Crossroads Mall in Kalamazoo.

Forever 21 was founded by South Korean immigrants Do Won Chang and his wife, Jin Sook Chang in 1984 in Los Angeles. The chain prided itself on selling trendy fashion at bargain prices. Many of their locations are around 38,000 square feet, making them junior anchors at many malls.

Now, I'm no fan of Forever 21 because a lot of the junk they sell comes from sweatshops. Plus, the Changs are Jebus freaks who notoriously treat their employees like shit. I read somewhere that they pay their workers maybe a buck or two over minimum wage at best. Now, I once had a Jebus freak boss for 10 and a half years. And like the Changs, he never gave me a raise and treated lesser people better than me. When he retired, my company was damn near bankrupt. I told his replacement about my situation, and a day later, I got a 75 cent raise. Since then, I've gotten HUGE raises.

Recently, I've seen a video of the conditions of a Forever 21 standalone store and there's a lot of trash on the outside of the building. To me, any business that has trash everywhere and poor conditions is the sign of workers who don't give a shit about their job or the lousy pay they get. 

To me, it's a shame that these pricks throw Jesus around and expect to make billions, which they did. But in the end, they lost four billion dollars within four years. The Changs are still worth $1.5 billion - more than me or you - but the sad reality is that when you pay your workers who have made all that money for you, well, fuck you.

Now, whether or not Forever 21 will survive Chapter 11 is anyone's guess. Personally, I hope they rot in hell and take Shoe Dept. - another Jebus freak mall giant - with them. When you're a Christian billionaire and pay your workers a pittance, you make the real Jesus cry.

"It's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to go to Heaven", quoth the big man himself. Maybe, just maybe, Forever 21 will be Forever 35.

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