Forever 21 interior
Forever 21 (21,017 square feet)
12300 Jefferson Avenue, Patrick Henry Mall, Newport News, VA
Opened in October 2012; originally Borders (November 26th, 2005-April 2011)
Forever 21 has had a dwindling presence not just on the Peninsula, but on this side of the state in general. But as far as the Peninsula goes, their store in Hampton's Peninsula Town Center closed at the end of 2022 and last spring they closed their outlet store in Williamsburg. This left the Newport News store as the last man standing, and now it too has begun its' store closing sale as part of the company's second bankruptcy process, along with the two stores remaining on the Southside. They are one of the junior anchors of Patrick Henry Mall, taking over space originally housing a Borders bookstore that was built as part of the mall's major 2005-2006 renovation. There are some traces of its' past as Borders visible here in the buildout (restrooms/stockroom to the left, the exterior corner entryway), but Forever 21 did give the salesfloor a gut job to suite their distinctive aesthetic; such characteristics include the gloss tile flooring, the majority of the ceiling being decorative plaster with chandeliers, the remainder of it consisting of drop tiles with spotlights, a few neon signs, and multiple two-four way steel clothing racks covering the salesfloor. They also moved their checkout area to the right side of the salesfloor (when entering from inside the mall) and centered up the in-mall entryway, compared to Borders' checkout/entrance being to the immediate left inside the mall. I've never been a person who gravitates towards the fast-fashion business model of stores like this, so I don't feel too strongly about this company's failings since the connection just isn't there for me, and I will be interested to see what the mall does with this space once it becomes vacant.
Forever 21 interior
Forever 21 (21,017 square feet)
12300 Jefferson Avenue, Patrick Henry Mall, Newport News, VA
Opened in October 2012; originally Borders (November 26th, 2005-April 2011)
Forever 21 has had a dwindling presence not just on the Peninsula, but on this side of the state in general. But as far as the Peninsula goes, their store in Hampton's Peninsula Town Center closed at the end of 2022 and last spring they closed their outlet store in Williamsburg. This left the Newport News store as the last man standing, and now it too has begun its' store closing sale as part of the company's second bankruptcy process, along with the two stores remaining on the Southside. They are one of the junior anchors of Patrick Henry Mall, taking over space originally housing a Borders bookstore that was built as part of the mall's major 2005-2006 renovation. There are some traces of its' past as Borders visible here in the buildout (restrooms/stockroom to the left, the exterior corner entryway), but Forever 21 did give the salesfloor a gut job to suite their distinctive aesthetic; such characteristics include the gloss tile flooring, the majority of the ceiling being decorative plaster with chandeliers, the remainder of it consisting of drop tiles with spotlights, a few neon signs, and multiple two-four way steel clothing racks covering the salesfloor. They also moved their checkout area to the right side of the salesfloor (when entering from inside the mall) and centered up the in-mall entryway, compared to Borders' checkout/entrance being to the immediate left inside the mall. I've never been a person who gravitates towards the fast-fashion business model of stores like this, so I don't feel too strongly about this company's failings since the connection just isn't there for me, and I will be interested to see what the mall does with this space once it becomes vacant.