Now you’ll never get to relive your teens
For those of you still holding on to teen dreams and Wet Seal gift cards, the time has come to cash them in. Actually, the time has passed. The clothing company filed for the second bankruptcy after closing their remaining 171 stores. Wet Seal is no more.
It’s not them, it’s the mall
This is not shocking news for the teen apparel store. Two years ago, Wet Seal filed for bankruptcy after experiencing low sales and a decline in customers overall. However, it is not about competition with other markets.
The truth is that less people are visiting malls in general.
At the beginning of this year, Wet Seal closed the rest of their stores and laid-off all of ther employees after they were unable to find an investor. They listed their assets at an estimated $10-50 million and liabilities of $50-100 million.
Latching onto a trend
This is not an uncommon fate for teen clothing stores these days. Other major brands, including The Limited and American Apparel LLC, have also closed up shop.
[clickToTweet tweet=”Many blame the decrease in mall attendance, especially among teens.” quote=”Many blame the decrease in mall attendance, especially among teens.”]
People are simply not going into these shops, perhaps opting for the convenience of online shopping. In addition, the spending habits of teens are changing. Clothing is something available in second hand shops and teens may not even be shopping for these things in the first place.
However, one store did get a second chance, even though it was not in the stars for Wet Seal. Aeropostale reopened this year after being financially rescued. Unfortunately, Wet Seal could not find the right partner to provide the same monetary assistance. For everyone who forgot about Wet Seal, you’re not alone.
As more and more people continue shopping online, or simply disregarding their once-often field trips to the mall, the future of most stores becomes less secure.
