Sears Holdings Corp. said it’s leasing 43,000 square feet of space at its South Coast Plaza store in Costa Mesa to Los Angeles-based Forever 21 Inc.
Forever 21 is expected to open its XXI Forever flagship store in the Sears space in the spring.
Forever 21 also has a store at Fashion Island in Newport Beach, which will be expanding in the former Circuit City location this fall.
Forever 21 sells trendy bargain clothes, or what’s called fast fashion, to young women.
Sears plans to continue operating in the remaining space at South Coast Plaza, offering the same products but with a different layout to accommodate Forever 21.
The XXI Forever store will lease space on the lower and upper levels of the Sears building.
“Forever 21 is an incredible brand and a perfect addition to South Coast Plaza’s collection of the best in retail,” said Debra Gunn Downing, executive director of marketing for the shopping center.
Sears executives tout the store within a store as a new way to make better use of its buildings.
“This agreement is a great example of Sears Holdings selectively redeploying its asset base to improve the retail experience for consumers while working to create long-term shareholder value,” said Jeff Stollenwerck, president of real estate for Sears.
Sears, which is based near Chicago, has about 3,900 Sears and Kmart stores.
Forever 21 has 480 stores.
