Wet Seal Moving to Bigger Facility in Foothill Ranch

Young women’s apparel retailer Wet Seal Inc. is planning to move its headquarters from the Irvine Spectrum to a much larger facility to be built in Foothill Ranch, company president Edmond Thomas said.

Wet Seal has signed a 10-year lease for a combination office building and warehouse that will be developed by Parkstone Cos. of Santa Ana and Foothill Ranch Co. Construction will begin in mid-February and the company is scheduled to move in October.

The company, whose current lease is expiring in July, looked for a site to accommodate its headquarters, which has more than 200 employees, and a large distribution center. The company’s distribution operations are now in Los Angeles.

The company decided to build a new facility to accommodate ambitious growth plans. “We definitely are actively pursuing acquisition opportunities,” Thomas said.

Last month, the 363-store chain made a bid for County Seat, a Dallas apparel retailer in bankruptcy. The offer was rebuffed, but Thomas said Monday that negotiations with County Seat are continuing.

Wet Seal is the latest of several youth-oriented companies that plan to move into the industrial area at the base of Saddleback Mountain.

The first big tenant to sign a deal, sunglass maker Oakley Inc., will move into its new headquarters in March. One of its competitors, Nike’s Sports Specialties, also has announced plans to move there in September.

Other companies moving into Foothill Ranch last year were Alacer Corp., a vitamin maker, and Goldwell Cosmetics, a hair products company.