The Buzz: Wet Seal reportedly closing stores
Wet Seal, a teen clothing retailer, is reportedly closing all of its 171 stores, according to multiple media accounts.
Wet Seal’s store in Grand Chute’s Fox River Mall had signs posted in its windows Saturday that read “entire store on sale” and “everything must go.”
Employees in both the local store and the company’s Irvine, Calif. customer service office contacted Monday said they had no further information. The company's website and Facebook page did not have updates as of Monday morning.
It’s unknown how many employees are affected or an end date for the chain, which has been in business since the 1960s.
Wet Seal sent a letter Jan. 20 to employees notifying them that its Irvine., Calif. corporate office will close because the company was unable to obtain capital to continue or find a buyer, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Wet Seal struggled in recent years and filed for bankruptcy protection in 2015.
“The closing of Wet Seal’s 171 stores would come just two years after the Irvine, Calif.-based chain closed two-thirds of its locations and laid off almost 3,700 workers, filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection,” USA Today reporter Charisse Jones wrote Friday.
Maureen Wallenfang: 920-993-7116, or mwallenfang@postcrescent.com; on Twitter @wallenfang