Trendy US fast fashion retailer Forever 21 will re-enter China two years after it closed a pilot store in Changshu.

Now the company plans to open stores in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong.

Los Angeles-based, privately-owned Forever 21 will open a 24,000 sqft store in Wangfujing shopping district of downtown Beijing next year.

Forever 21 stores in Hong Kong and Shanghai are set to open in the first half of 2012.

“The action and money is here. China is the only locomotive left in the world,” said Sung Won Sohn, the company’s vice chairman.

Forever 21 will manufacture 60 per cent of its products in China. It will join other mid-market fashion brands in China such as Uniqlo, H&M, Gap and Zara.

Forever 21 was founded by South Korean immigrants Do Won Chang and his wife, Jin Sook Chang in 1984. With 525 stores around the world, it is projecting revenues of more than US$3 billion this year.

GB