New Stores Boost Wet Seal Sales

The Wet Seal chain of women’s apparel stores announced Monday that its sales for the fiscal year increased 11.6% to $119.9 million and that customer spending is on the rise.

The sales increase, however, was fueled largely by expansion of the Irvine-based chain. Wet Seal opened 20 new stores during the fiscal year, for a total of 112 in California, Nevada, Arizona, Hawaii and Texas. Comparable store sales, which measure sales growth or decline without taking new stores into account, were off by 11.9% for the fiscal year ended Feb 1.

Wet Seal sales were up from $107.4 million in fiscal 1990. In the fourth quarter, sales were $35.2 million, up nearly 24% over the previous year’s $28.5 million. The company, which is traded over the counter, is not expected to release earnings data until late this month.

“All things considered, we were very pleased with our holiday season sales results. We sense a gradual return of customer spending confidence,” Wet Seal President Ken Chilvers said.