Clothestime, Wet Seal Post 1st-Quarter Gains

Two well-known women’s apparel chains based in Orange County--Clothestime Inc. and Wet Seal Inc.--both reported strong first-quarter sales and earnings.

Clothestime, a chain with a discount approach that has helped its sales soar during the recession, said that its latest first-quarter earnings were the best in five years. Profit for the three months ended April 25 was $1 million, or 7 cents a share, a 92% increase from $522,000, or 4 cents a share, for the same quarter last year.

Revenue came to $68.3 million, a 20% increase from $56.8 million a year earlier.

John Ortega II, chairman of the Anaheim-based company, said: “Over the past year and a half, we have put a new management in place, re-emphasized quality-control programs, pricing and marketing strategies. We are now seeing the results.”

Wet Seal, an Irvine-based chain that sells moderately priced clothes for women, said that earnings for its first quarter, which ended May 2, showed a healthy increase. Profit was $854,000, or 7 cents a share, a 27% increase from $673,000, or 6 cents a share, for the first quarter of 1991.

Sales were $33.9 million, up 47% from $23.8 million a year earlier.

Wet Seal’s president, Kathy Bronstein, said sales strengthened during the Christmas shopping season and rose consistently during the months following. The company, which has most of its stores in shopping malls, offered lower overall prices on top-quality merchandise, Bronstein said.

Stores were stocked with more merchandise to “offer a broader and deeper selection that resulted in a significant increase in unit sales per store,” she said, adding that those sales more than offset increased costs.