Compete against other stores in hopes of being crowned the ‘Top Shop’ in Forever 21 Shop World.
The metaverse company Virtual Brand Group is partnering with popular fashion company Forever 21 to create a unique experience that will let you operate your own Forever 21 store inside of Roblox. In Forever 21 Shop City, you’ll be encouraged to bring the vogue by designing your own fashion business through an unprecedented amount of customization options available through Roblox’s “Tycoon” mode.
Your first task is finding a “physical” location for your new venture! Ideally, you’ll want to find a spot in Forever 21 Shop City with a great view or a heavy amount of foot traffic. If at any point you feel like mixing things up, you can swap locations at any time.
Each player will start with a blank glass store they’ll use to create a cool fashion destination for customers using architectural themes like Cottage Core, FutureScape, CyberPunk, Eco-Urban, and Malibu Mansion. It’s up to you to place furniture, hang art, light the interior, and choose some cool hipster music your customers can vibe to as they shop. Each task you complete will earn you valuable points you can spend on new furniture and store displays from the Forever 21 flagship store.
Now that your Forever 21 store is built, it’s time to get creative. You’ll need to curate an inventory of eye-catching Forever 21 accessories and clothing to stock your shelves and cloth your display mannequins. You’ll also have to hire a team of non-player characters (NPCs) to work your store.
Like all business owners in the real world, sometimes your job will require you to do a little of everything. Be prepared to hit the store floor and help customers with questions or jump behind the cash register when things get busy. You may also find yourself decorating storefront windows and even pulling inventory from the back to fill shelves.
As if that weren’t cool enough, Forever 21 will be releasing new collections simultaneously in both real-world physical and the metaverse. Those same items will be available as virtual merchandise in Forever 21 Shop City that gamers can buy for their Roblox avatar.
In an official statement, Justin Hochberg, VBG’s CEO said, “The metaverse is the most transformative innovation since the creation of the internet. Roblox is one of the platforms creating the biggest business opportunities for brands with over 200M monthly players who socialize and live digital lives for hours every day, just like my daughter and all her friends do. That’s why I created the Virtual Brand Group”. Hochberg adds, “Our collaboration with Forever 21 marks, not just one of the biggest metaverse launches this year, but the first to combine physical and virtual worlds.”
However, being a business owner isn’t just about running a store and finding cool items to sell. It means having to think about what your competition is doing. Forever 21 Shop City will also feature stores designed by some of Roblox’s most well-known and biggest influencers, such as KrystinPlays, Shaylo, and the Sopo Squad. So think big and be creative when marketing your store!
Stepping into Forever 21 Shop City means having to step on the signature Yellow Carpet. The moment you do that, you’ll be greeted by paparazzi waving and screaming at you for your attention in hopes of getting a quick photo. You can strike a cool pose, talk about what you’re wearing, and even share the paparazzi photos on social media.
Located at the hub of Forever 21 Shop City is the Forever 21 Flagship Store. Here you check out new merchandise for your store, restock inventory, socialize with other players, and even look at the last design elements available for your store.
Being the community-first game that it is, the Forever 21 Shop City will be enlisting the help of some of Roblox’s more “fashion famous” influencers, such as @Builder_Boy, @Beeism, @OceanOrbsRBX, and @Jazzy_X3—all who have collectively sold over 70 million avatar items within the game—to help create exclusive items you can sell in your Forever 21 store.
The metaverse is well on its way to becoming an incredibly powerful marketing tool that will reshape how consumers interact with their favorite brands. One business expert believes that gaming, communication, and advertising in the metaverse could be worth $82 billion by 2025, so it’s safe to say brands are paying attention.
Katrina Glusac, Chief Merchandising Officer at Forever 21 said: “With Forever 21 Shop City, our goal is to expand how we engage with customers, extending our presence and product in new ways. We’re excited to provide a new space on Roblox where our fans can connect with their community and bring their own vision of Forever 21 to life.”
The 21st of each month on Roblox will be “Forever 21 Day,” integrating new themed content and activities. December 21st will mark the first-ever Forever 21 Day and will commence with a holiday-themed update. To learn more about Forever 21 Shop City—including how to download and play the game on mobile, PC, or Mac—head on over to the Roblox website.
Feature Image Credit: Roblox
