Leading United States retail giant Sears Holdings Corp. has been a consistent innovator in recent years as it attempts to correct its past business issues in the face of incredibly stiff competition, even at the fashion market level, with world giant Wal-Mart. Sears has turned to looking for ways to leverage its real estate to its advantage and one of the ways it does this is by renting out what it owns to complimentary retailers. Now, Sears is turning an eye towards Fashion 21 Inc. since it is known to be a fast fashion choice for the fashion crowd. By testing the pairing out in a prominent mall in California, Sears and Forever 21 hope to see if they will be able to profit together in the new pairing. Negotiations are now in progress to move the 40,000 square foot Forever 21 store in Costa Mesa, just outside of Los Angeles, into the 300,000 square foot Sears location in the South Coast Plaza mall. This would offer the ability for Forever 21 to have their own entrance to the mall.

Should an agreement be reached with the fashion and accessories store, Sears would stand to gain a foothold in the elusive fashion market and diversify its offerings for fashion fans in the market that Forever 21 caters to. The smaller retailer has done well by expanding all through the recession due to a reputation for offering bargains that exceed its rivals Zara and H&M, both of whom are already set up inside the mall along with stores like Christian Louboutin, Harry Winston, Chanel, Prada and Burberry.