Wet Seal
Models appear in a 2016 ad for Wet Seal clothing. The California-based retailer is closing all its stores nationwide.
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Wet Seal is closing all of its stores, two years after filing for its first bankruptcy.
The teen fashion retailer currently has 171 locations, including five in Upstate New York: Destiny USA in Syracuse, Crossgates Mall in Albany, Galleria at Crystal Run in Middletown, and two in Buffalo at the Walden Galleria and the McKinley Mall. The company is also planning to lay off its 148 headquarters employees in Irvine, Calif.
"Unfortunately, the company was unable to obtain the necessary capital or identify a strategic partner, and was recently informed that it will receive no further financing for its operations," the company's vice president and general counsel wrote to staff in a letter that was leaked to The Wall Street Journal.
Wet Seal filed for bankruptcy in early 2015, closing 338 stores including a shop at Great Northern Mall. According to Fortune, that was two-thirds of the chain's locations, laying off 3,695 workers.
Closing dates have not been announced for stores, but liquidation sales are expected soon.
Consumerist reports Wet Seal was considering a second filing for bankruptcy protection as it struggled to find investors or a buyer. However, clothing stores at malls have struggled in recent years as traffic declines and more shopping is done online.
Stores that have filed for Chapter 11 in the past two years include The Limited, American Apparel, Pacific Sunwear and Aeropostale.