Fashion retailer Forever 21 filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Sunday after being hobbled by expensive leases, declining mall traffic, digital competition and fashion choices that fell flat.

Forever 21 requested court protection from its creditors in a bid to stay in business.

The family-owned company, which has about 32,800 employees, said it would close "most" of its stores in Asia and Europe and up to 178 stores in the U.S.

The retailer said the exact number of closures would be contingent on negotiations with landlords, but "we ... 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."

The company, which did not release a list of store closures, is negotiating lease concessions in hopes of lowering its costs. Four landlords account for nearly half of the retailer's leases, according to a court filing.

With about 785 stores worldwide, including 534 company-owned locations in the U.S., Forever 21 is one of the largest specialty apparel retailers. The company's stores are typically smaller than the average department store but larger than many of its apparel competitors.

The fast-fashion retailer's aggressive expansion in recent years has led to problems, including the opening of more than 200 locations in foreign markets from 2005 to 2015, many of them struggling. In the U.S., Forever 21 snapped up retail spaces previously occupied by retailers like Saks, Sears and Borders, but the company now has too much space to sustain what it calls "ultra-low prices."

Much like other traditional retailers, the company is grappling with digital competition and changing shopping habits. Forever 21, which gets only 16% of its sales from digital sources, has been slow to adapt to e-commerce.

In bankruptcy, Forever 21 said it would continue to honor gift cards, returns and exchanges. Bankruptcy experts typically urge consumers to spend gift cards if there's any concern that a retailer will liquidate.

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“This was an important and necessary step to secure the future of our company, which will enable us to reorganize our business and reposition Forever 21,” Forever 21 executive vice president Linda Chang said in a statement.

Across the retail sector, more than 8,200 stores have already announced plans to shut down this year, according to Coresight Research. That's up from nearly 5,900 in 2018.

Mall retailers that have announced plans to liquidate in 2019 have included Payless ShoeSource, Gymboree, Charlotte Russe and Charming Charlie.

Forever 21 is owned by the family of Do Won and Jin Sook Chang, a husband-and-wife team who founded the company in 1984 as Fashion 21 in Los Angeles after immigrating to the U.S. from South Korea three years earlier with no savings.

"The Changs, the founders and owners of Forever 21, serve as a rare and exemplary model of the American Dream," Forever 21's chief restructuring officer, Jonathan Goulding, said in a court filing.

In the early days, design and merchandise chief Jin Sook Chang had a "nearly-clairvoyant ability to predict trends," Goulding said.

But the company acknowledged that in recent years, it made bets on new fashion that "failed to resonate with customers," saddling the company with excess inventory that "crowded out new product" due to debt terms that made it difficult to discount.

What's more, a macro trend that has undermined many of its competitors has also barraged Forever 21: Fewer people are shopping in malls.

"Many Forever 21 storefronts are located in malls. As its neighbors have closed, the number of customers walking past Forever 21 has declined. This has led to a decrease in sales through what has traditionally been Forever 21’s predominant retail channel, its brick and mortar stores," Goulding said.

"Despite Forever 21’s continued efforts to adjust its sales strategy to one capitalizing on its online store, it remains saddled with excessive floor space from leases entered almost a decade ago or more in unprofitable markets."

Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail, said Forever 21 "was once a colossus on the fashion stage" but has "fallen increasingly out of favor" due to competition like H&M, and "a lack of clarity and differentiation."

"Store standards have also been sliding and consumer ratings for the quality of displays, merchandise, and the amount of inspiration in shops have dipped considerably over the past year," Saunders wrote in an analysis. "In an era when it has become very easy to buy online, Forever 21 has not taken care of its physical assets and the profitability of its estate has suffered."

Forever 21's fast-fashion segment, known for generating new styles quickly to appeal to consumers, is also facing challenges.

Cowen retail analyst Oliver Cohen noted earlier this month that fast-fashion retailers face a challenge in the form of increasingly popular clothing rental services, for example.

"Department stores and fast fashion may be at risk if they fail to innovate and adapt to the new emerging trends in retail," he wrote in a note to invesetors.

In addition to lease concessions, the company's turnaround plan includes "impactful" marketing, investments in e-commerce and a "refocusing" on "trendy and affordable apparel, accessories, jewelry and handbags," Goulding said.

But what if fast-fashion is no longer fashionable?

"Prevailing consumer trends have also been against Forever 21 as some younger shoppers have migrated away from fast fashion in favor of more sustainable models of consumption," Saunders said. "Although this is not the main reason for the decline – as is witnessed by the success of other chains in the segment such as Primark – it has been broadly unhelpful to growth and has added further pressure to a business desperate to drive its sales line."

Follow USA TODAY reporter Nathan Bomey on Twitter @NathanBomey.