As Virgin Megastores will be shutting its largest location at Times square this April, popular Forever 21 will replace.

The decision had been expected last year, when the retailer's real estate co-owners said they were seeking new tenants for the massive Times Square storefront.

The closing, was announced to the store's 200 employees this week, will leave the Virgin store on Union Square as the last Manhattan outpost of a large music chain.

In recent years, Virgin has been working to brand itself as a broad lifestyle entertainment seller, offering DVDs, clothing, videogames and music, among other items.

The Times Square space will be closed for at least a year before it reopens as Forever 21's largest location.

It will be combined with some adjoining space to create a 90,000-square-foot store that will be triple the size of any of Forever 21's three current stores in Manhattan, said Lawrence Meyer, a senior vice president of Forever 21.

Forever 21 is a Los Angeles-based chain that sells trendy clothing for young women and men. It competes with other moderately priced retailers like H & M and Gap stores.

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