Introduction/Thesis
Wet Seal prides their merchandise as being "first, fresh, fun, and definitely fun". Although that saying once held true, today Wet Seal's sales are quickly declining. Though this could be due to a number of reasons, one of the most imperative causes is the failing to understand exactly who their target customer is. It seemed they had jumped on every fashion that seemed to be remotely popular too hastily and had too much of it. They brought in an overly eclectic assortment of clothing that included styles varying from urban to skater and eventually led to customer confusion. That particular mix of merchandise does not identify with one customer and became confusing as to what kind of a store Wet Seal is and what demographic they were and still are seeking to obtain. They acquired and placed too many dissimilar trends in the store, thus abandoning their target customer and leading them to experience ineffective and extremely imperceptible sales.
Dallas, Renaissance Tower
English: Neiman Marcus flagship store, Dallas, Tex...
English: Wet Seal headquarters in Foothill Ranch, ...Background of the Company
Wet Seal started out in Newport Beach, California in 1962. Its original name was "Lorne's" named after Lorne Huycke, the founder and owner. The company soon became known as Wet Seal after an auspicious remark made by his wife stating that a swimsuit model looked like a "wet seal" walking down the runway in a black, shiny swimsuit. Soon after that propitious occurrence, Wet Seal's product demand grew rapidly and by the late 1970's and early 1980's expanded to more than a dozen retail locations. In 1995, Wet Seal attained 237 Contempo Casuals stores from the Neiman Marcus Group. Wet Seal Inc. then created a concept for a more upscale retailer, Arden B. in 1998 launched the store in 2001, as well as a store dedicated to "tweens" referring to girls from the ages of...