Arden B. Stores Closing

The Wet Seal Inc. (Foothill Ranch, Calif.) is shuttering all 54 of its Arden B. retail stores. John D. Goodman, Wet Seal ceo says the company will instead focus on growth of the company’s eponymous brand. The Arden B. chain had shrunk to half of its peak size of 106 stores in 2004.

Wet Seal will transition 31 of the 54 locations to Wet Seal Plus stores, and the remaining 23 will become Wet Seal stores, according to Women’s Wear Daily. Wet Seal recently adopted a fast-fashion business model to increase sales and compete with other fast-fashion, teen-oriented retailers, including Forever 21 and H&M. The change-over will be completed by late July in anticipation of peak back-to-school season.