Wet Seal closes all 171 stores, including 2 in Central Ohio

Struggling teen retailer Wet Seal is closing all of its 171 stores, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The apparel retailer notified employees working in the company's Irvine, California headquarters that the office was permanently shutting down and laying off all of its workers last week.

Versa Capita acquired the brand for $7.5 million in cash in April 2015, but couldn't raise the necessary funds or secure a buyer to keep the brand alive, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Wet Seal closed 338 of its then-511 stores in January 2015, then filed for bankruptcy protection in an effort to see if it could sustain the rest of the company.

Earlier in January, The Limited shut down all 250 of its stores (four in central Ohio) and laid off 4,000 workers.

Other mall staples like Sears and Macy's will also have mass closures with Sears planning to close 150 namesake stores (two in central Ohio) in and Kmart stores in 2017 (four in central Ohio) and Macy's planning to shutter another 100 stores (two in central Ohio).