Crowds Roll Out for Forever 21's Grand Opening

Los Angeles–based retailer Forever 21 celebrated the grand opening of its newest store at the Los Cerritos Center shopping mall in Cerritos, Calif., with a weekend party filled with shoppers, Sprinkles cupcakes and plenty of bumping music.

The Cerritos outpost of the fast-fashion retail chain got a super-size makeover—taking over the giant 85,691-square-foot space that once belonged to a Mervyns store. In 2008, Forever 21 picked up the leases on 22 former Mervyns locations from developer Macerich, following the department-store chain's bankruptcy filing, with plans to create large-format stores.

Hoards of shoppers—ranging from teen girls with their moms to young adults dragging along boyfriends to older gals with husbands in tow—came out on Saturday with the promise of gift cards and coupons for the first customers in line.

Along with racks of on-trend contemporary styles, the expansive space also houses several of Forever 21’s offshoot brands such as Heritage 1981, Twist, Faith 21 and Twelve by Twelve, as well as wings… yes, wings… of the store dedicated to shoes, accessories and men’s fashions.