(Filed Under Financial and General Interest News). Junior retailer The Wet Seal, Inc., which runs the Wet Seal and Arden B. chains, cited net sales for the recent second quarter of $136.4 million compared to $149.1 million during the prior year’s second quarter. Consolidated comparable store sales dropped 10.6 percent, with comparable store sales for Wet Seal decreasing 11.9 percent, and for Arden B., 4.1 percent. Operating income was $3.3 million, or 2.4 percent of net sales, compared to $11.8 million, or 7.9 percent of net sales.

“We have made some progress at both divisions, but we are disappointed with our overall results for the second quarter,” Ed Thomas, chief executive officer of The Wet Seal, Inc., said. “At Arden B, we sustained performance improvement begun in the first quarter (…) we have also gained further confidence in the lower-priced merchandise model we adopted at Arden B at the beginning of this year.”

The company opened five Wet Seal stores and closed two Arden B stores during the quarter, ending it with 496 stores in 47 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, including 415 Wet Seal stores and 81 Arden B stores.

For the third quarter, the company expects total net sales of between $138 million and $142 million versus $146.6 million last year, with comparable store sales declining between 6 and 9 percent versus a 7.6 percent drop last year.

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Published 08-21-2009 by Amanda Torres Price