Wet Seal Hires Ex-Disney Stores Chief

The Wet Seal Inc. (Foothill Ranch, Calif.) has named former Disney Stores president Peter Whitford as ceo, effective June 30, 2003. Whitford will succeed chairman Irving Teitelbaum, who had been acting as interim ceo since February.

Whitford, a 25-year veteran of domestic and international retail, had most recently served as president-worldwide of Disney Stores, which at one time operated nearly 700 retail stores in 10 countries. Prior to Disney Stores, Whitford spent six years in senior executive positions, including those of president and ceo, at Structure, a 600-store specialty apparel division of Limited Brands Inc. A native of Australia, he has also served in management positions at various other retail companies, both in the United States and Australia.

“We are thrilled to have a retail veteran of the caliber of Peter Whitford join our team and lead this company forward,” said Teitelbaum. “Peter has had an impressive and distinguished career, and brings a wealth of retail and managerial experience to the company. We look forward to the many contributions he is sure to make as we continue our efforts to position this company for future growth and strengthen our presence as a premier fashion retailer.”

The Wet Seal operates 622 stores in 47 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, including 490 Wet Seal stores, 101 Arden B. stores and 31 Zutopia stores. Most of its stores are mall-based, operating under the Contempo Casuals and Wet Seal names, selling moderately priced casual clothing, accessories and a proprietary line of cosmetics. The more upscale Arden B. stores target women ages 18-40. To capture the tween market, the company bought Gymboree's Zutopia chain of stores.