Pacific Sunwear (PacSun)

Retail - Teen Apparel · Founded 1980

PacSun's 2016 bankruptcy reflected how teen apparel chains were being destroyed by fast fashion and changing preferences. The company had defined mall-based teen fashion but couldn't compete with Zara's speed or online alternatives' convenience. The mechanism failure was format and style obsolescence—mall-based teen retail was being outcompeted on both location and fashion.

Key Facts

1980
Founded

Related Mechanisms for Pacific Sunwear (PacSun)