We shopped at Forever 21 and H&M and saw firsthand why one store is clearly outperforming the other

H&M — one of the largest fashion retailers in the world, with more than 4,400 namesake stores in 72 countries — is outshining its competitor, Forever 21.

As Forever 21 nears a possible bankruptcy, the fast-fashion brand is reportedly seeking help in the form of a private-equity bailout.

Meanwhile, H&M's parent company recently reported a net sales increase of 10% and success in growing both H&M's e-commerce business and the brand's loyalty program.

We visited neighboring locations of H&M and Forever 21, and saw why H&M is coming out on top.

As Forever 21 reportedly considers a large-scale restructuring plan following the closures of a series of international store locations, H&M continues to grow.

H&M Group — the parent company of H&M which includes brands Cos, & Other Stories, and Arket, among others — reported a 10% increase in net sales for the first quarter of 2019. The H&M brand also showed continued growth in online sales, thanks in part to an expanded loyalty program that now includes 35 million members, as well as a forthcoming launch on popular Indian e-commerce sites Myntra and Jabong.

While Forever 21 does not publicly disclose sales, its performance has undoubtedly slumped in recent years as exhibited by store closures in major global markets, notably London and China. The company has been especially hit hard by the rise of e-commerce competitors and a failure to innovate in areas like clothing and store design. Now the faltering brand is seeking help from a private-equity firm to help with reconsolidation.

We shopped at a Forever 21 and H&M store, and saw that Forever 21's in-store experience paled in comparison to H&M. Both stores are located at the Westfield World Trade Center mall, and though H&M has an obvious advantage in attracting foot traffic due to its street-level positioning (Forever 21 has a subterranean space), Forever 21 left much to be desired.

H＆M--全球最大的时尚零售商之一，在72个国家/地区拥有超过4,400家同名零售店 - 其竞争对手Forever 21已经超越了它。因为Forever 21接近可能据报道，这家快速时尚品牌正在以私募股权救助的形式寻求帮助。与此同时，H＆M的母公司最近报告净销售额增长了10％，并成功发展了H＆M的电子商务业务。品牌的忠诚度计划。我们参观了H＆M和Forever 21的邻近地点，看到了为什么H＆M名列前茅。 据报道，在一系列国际店铺关闭后，Forever 21考虑了一项大规模重组计划，H＆M继续增长。 H＆M集团 - H＆M的母公司，其中包括Cos，＆Other Stories和Arket等品牌 - 报告2019年第一季度净销售额增长10％.H＆M品牌也表现出持续增长在线销售，部分归功于扩展的忠诚度计划，现在包括3500万会员，以及即将在热门的印度电子商务网站Myntra和Jabong上发布。虽然Forever 21没有公开披露销售，但其表现近年来，由于全球主要市场（尤其是伦敦和中国）的商店关闭，这种情况无疑显得黯然失色。由于电子商务竞争对手的崛起以及服装和商店设计等领域的创新失败，该公司尤为受到重创。现在这个摇摇欲坠的品牌正在寻求私募股权公司的帮助以帮助重新整合。我们在Forever 21和H＆M商店购物，看到Forever 21的店内体验与H＆M相比变得苍白无力。这两家商店都位于Westfield世界贸易中心商场，虽然H＆M因其街道位置（Forever 21有地下空间）而在吸引人流量方面具有明显优势，但Forever 21还有很多不足之处。