Century 21 is Making a Comeback
Century 21 Stores announced it will officially relaunch in 2021 after going bankrupt last year. The owners of the company, the Gindi family, bought back the intellectual property of the brand following the September 2020 bankruptcy. According to the company press release, the first step of the brand's revival will be for Century 21 to open its doors for the first time in South Korea.
A new president has been added to the team to help oversee Century 21's relaunch. Marc Benitez, who has formerly held leadership positions at brands such as COACH and Kenneth Cole, is tasked with reimagining and directing the brand's relaunch strategy, while staying true to its legacy.
Century 21 will open in Busan in early summer 2021. Plans for further global expansion and relaunch of the brand in New York, as well as the rest of the U.S., will be announced in the coming weeks.
Total Retail's Take: Century 21 was one of the many retailers that fell victim to the ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic. When it filed for bankruptcy, hundreds of workers lost their jobs after already having been furloughed by the discount retail chain. It's encouraging news to see a legacy brick-and-mortar retailer such as Century 21 making a comeback in these times. It will be exciting to see what the company's plans are for the U.S., and if it will reopen its flagship department store in New York. Lastly, one would expect that Century 21 plans to relaunch its e-commerce site in the near future, given the surge in online shopping we've seen in the past year.
Ashley Chiaradio is the Senior Content Strategist at Total Retail. Ashley has been creating content for more than 7 years, and provides a unique insight in covering the retail industry having worked directly for retailers in the past. She’s passionate about profiling women leadership in the space.
