Wet Seal :: essays research papers fc

soaked cachet started as a bikini shack in Newport Beach, CA in 1962. By the mid 1980s they were known for offering trendy clothes to the most fashionable customers in Orange County. slopped Seal exchange the right merchandise at the right time, and by 1995 they had enough capitol to buy 237 Contempo Casual stores from the Neiman Marcus Group. When Wet Seal went public in 1996 they realized they needed a marketplace for 20-35 year old females with a more contemporary look. With that thought, then CEO, Kathy Bronstein, created Arden B. The venue was named after her daughter. Also in 2001, Wet Seal Inc., felt the need for a venue just for the tween market, girls five to 12 years old. They bought out 18 Zutopia store units from Gymboree, Inc. The store also expanded in 2001 by purchasing a majority of the Contempo Casual stores, and later merged web sites with Contempo Casuals that created one of the largest junior driven sites in the country. As like every retail organization, W et Seal Inc., has seen the best and worst during their years in business. With the 9/11 tragedy and other natural disasters, the nations economy had seen better days. Wet Seal Inc. stuck it out with Kathy Bronstein behind the wheel, and in late 2001 sales increased into the double digits, and stock was up 61% for the year. A vendor partner state, Shes one of the greatest merchants I know in the industry...she lives, eats, and breathes this junior business. After two years of plummeting sales, and comments that theyve lost touch with the thrifty, fashion obsessed teens, Wet Seal Inc. hired a new chief executive, Peter Whitford. Peter Whitford was the former president of Walt Disneys Disney Store operations. He also brought a talented team with him that included fashion designer, Victor Alfaro, and a teen-marketing expert, Anne Kallin Zehren. To get good output for their new line, Zehren came up with an idea to hire 11 stylizers to speak freely about Wet Seal fashions. Were having fashionable teens help us out, Zehren states, and also adding that she hoped to recruit 50 stylizers by the end of the year. The stylizers are supposed to appear in ads, and add more appeal to the new clothing line. Marketing experts agreed with the idea of hiring every day girls as fashion muses, but they also stated that Wet Seal has to be really committed to this new idea.