After closing stores nationwide in September 2020, retail chain Century 21 Department Stores LLC announced that it will be reopening.
Since Al Gindi and his cousin Samuel “Sonny” Gindi founded the company in 1961, Century 21 has remained an iconic fashion store with 13 locations in the United States until 2020. Over the course of its 60-year run, it became known for its “top-quality discount merchandise.”
The company was forced to close up shop due to financial reasons caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Century 21’s insurance providers did not pay the approximately $175 million needed to keep the company in operation.
The insurers argued that Century 21 did not qualify for business interruption insurance, as certain “policies have specific exclusions including pandemics, bacteria, and viruses,” according to Forbes.