The Wet Seal to Build 60 Stores in 2011
Foothill Ranch, Calif.–based juniors retailer The Wet Seal Inc. is bullish on real estate. In an Aug 19 conference call on the retailer’s second-quarter earnings, Chief Executive Ed Thomas told analysts the company plans to open 60 new Wet Seal stores in 2011.
The new stores will be opened in better malls across the United States and open-air malls dominated by big-box stores such as Target. Some of the stores will maintain a footprint of 5,500 to 6,000 square feet and offer a broader assortment of denim than the average Wet Seal store. Thomas also called Blink, the company’s denim pop-up shop, a success. The concept debuted this June in Riverside, Calif. More Blink stores will open when appropriate real estate is available.
The Wet Seal’s Arden B. division will have a makeover this year. Arden B. is a contemporary store for women ages 25 to 35. A new Arden B. prototype store is being unveiled later this month in Stonebriar Centre mall near Dallas. These stores offer new fixtures and a design that makes them more visually appealing, Thomas said.
For its second quarter, the company’s same-store sales declined 4.3 percent compared with the same quarter last year. Net sales for the quarter were $131.5 million, compared with net sales of $136.4 million last year.—Andrew Asch
