Photo/Tuchong

Apr. 30 (NBD) -- American fast fashion marque Forever 21 shut down its Chinese website and online shops on Tmall and JD.com on April 29. 

In the past week, the retailer's online stores launched a massive clearance sale offering discounts of up to 80 percent. 

According to an announcement posted on its website, consumers who placed orders prior to April 29 can request a refund before May 7. 

Since the end of last year, the fast fashion brand has closed its brick-and-mortar stores in Tianjin, Hangzhou, Beijing and Chongqing in succession. Recently, it wound up business in Xi'an, where it built a presence less than two years ago. 

To date, Forever 21 has only around 10 physical shops remaining in operation across mainland China. 

In addition to the mainland, the company is downscaling its business in other markets around the world. 

Last month, Forever 21 closed its last physical store in China's Taiwan after more than three years of operations in the region. The company said in a statement to employees that it made the decision due to years of losses. 

In January this year, the firm shut down its only flagship store in France, marking a full retreat from the country. The Netherlands, the UK, Japan and North America also witnessed the closure of Forever 21 stores.  

Fast fashion brands are facing a tough situation in mainland China amid the rise of a number of homegrown apparel brands and hundreds of thousands of online celebrity sellers. British fashion chains New Look, TopShop, and ASOS had all quitted the mainland market after disappointing performance. 

In Forever 21's case, an industry expert attributed its lackluster performance in mainland China to poor marketing. However, the retailer didn't announce plans to pull out of the Chinese market. 

Closing online shops doesn't necessarily mean a retreat, the expert said. Some brands might launch its own e-commerce platform after gaining an understanding of the Chinese market, the expert noted.  

Email: lansuying@nbd.com.cn