Major Expansion Fuels Rebound For Apparel Firm Catering to Teens. (Up Front).Bucking the toughest market in a decade, apparel retailer Wet Seal Wet Seal is a young women's clothing retailer headquartered in Foothill Ranch, California. It carries moderately priced brand name and company-designed apparel and accessories. The company was founded in Newport Beach, California by Lorne Huycke in 1962 as "Lorne's. Inc. plans to open 90 to 100 stores across its three divisions next year, as well as revamp re·vamp tr.v. re·vamped, re·vamp·ing, re·vamps 1. To patch up or restore; renovate. 2. To revise or reconstruct (a manuscript, for example). 3. To vamp (a shoe) anew. n. some older stores and weed out unprofitable ones. The Wet Seal division, which focuses on juniors, will see the biggest boost with at least 50 new stores, followed by Arden B, which carries contemporary women's fashions, and Zutopia, a pre-teen retailer the company acquired last year from Gymboree Corp. The expansion comes on the heels of Foothill Ranch-based Wet Seal reporting a 4.4 percent increase in same-store sales Same-store sales is a business term which refers to the revenue generated by one of a retail chain's specific outlets during a certain period of time (often a fiscal quarter or a particular shopping season), compared to an identical period in the past, usually in the previous year. for the third quarter and a 70 percent gain in net income to $6.8 million vs. a year ago. November same-store sales came in at a 1.3 percent increase. Kathy Bronstein, Wet Seal's vice chairwoman and chief executive, has spent the past 18 months breathing new life into the retailer, which took a beating in 1999 when it unsuccessfully took a stab at khakis khak·i n. 1. A light olive brown to moderate or light yellowish brown. 2. a. A sturdy cloth of this color. b. khakis A uniform made of this cloth. and polo shirts. Liz Pierce, senior vice president of investment firm Wedbush Morgan Securities, credits Bronstein for "building an infrastructure for each division before she sets on a rapid expansion." Wet Seal had tried to use one merchandising team to run all of its properties: Limbo Lounge, the unisex, urban line that flopped, Arden B., and the Wet Seal and Contempo Casual lines for juniors. The result, said Pierce, was a diluted di·lute tr.v. di·lut·ed, di·lut·ing, di·lutes 1. To make thinner or less concentrated by adding a liquid such as water. 2. To lessen the force, strength, purity, or brilliance of, especially by admixture. message that impacted the bottom line. Bronstein conceded con·cede v. con·ced·ed, con·ced·ing, con·cedes v.tr. 1. To acknowledge, often reluctantly, as being true, just, or proper; admit. See Synonyms at acknowledge. 2. that the fashion business is not "smooth sailing" and requires constant fine-tuning, particularly in tight times. |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion