Forever 21 to Close Westfield Culver City Store

Following the bankruptcy earlier this week of Forever 21 stores, the chain announced that Westfield Culver City would be one of the 178 stores closed as part of filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The company is also closing its Canadian stores as well as most of its locations in Asia and Europe.

According to documents filed in U.S. bankruptcy court on Tuesday, most of the stores will begin store closing sales this fall, with the goal of shutting down completely by December 31.

Additionally, other local area Forever 21 stores slated to be closed are in the Beverly Center, Glendale Galleria, Hollywood & Highland, The Galleria at South Bay.

The Culver City store occupies a large footprint on the 1st floor of the renovated section on the shopping mall. Most stores are in excess of 100,00 sq. ft.

According to CNBC, the list, filed in court documents, said the company doesn't necessarily expect to close all of these locations, as talks with landlords are still ongoing to try to renegotiate leases and rents. But the 178 stores listed in this map are some of Forever 21′s most unprofitable, and it expects the stores will close if no further deals are reached.

If deals are reached, the company says it will remove the sites from its current store closure list and file a new list.

"We do ... expect a significant number of these stores will remain open and operate as usual, and we do not expect to exit any major markets in the U.S.," a Forever 21 spokesperson said.

Liquidation sales are expected to be completed by the end of this year at the sites selected to be vacated. The company said it expects the inventory tied up at these stores is about $80 million.

Faced with increasing competition for online retailers and the changing buying habits of the Millennials, last year retailers closed almost 6,000 stores with that total expected to top 8,000 this year.