Wet Seal To Exit Arden B Business; Backs Q1 Loss View

(RTTNews) - Specialty clothing retailer Wet Seal, Inc. (WTSL) Friday said it will start winding down its Arden B brand. Arden B currently operates 54 mall-based stores and an e-commerce web site, ardenb.com The company reaffirmed its guidance for net loss and comparable sales for the first quarter of 2014. 31 Arden B locations will transition to Wet Seal Plus merchandise and the remaining 23 locations will transition from Arden B to Wet Seal merchandise

During the fiscal year ended February 1, 2014, Arden B generated net sales of $60.4 million, which constituted 11% of the company's total net sales.

The company expects this transition to end by the start of the back-to-school selling season in late July.

In connection with Arden B store assets, the company expects non-cash asset impairment charges of up to approximately $3 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2014.

The Company also expects to incur around $0.1 million in severance costs in the first quarter, and around $0.3 million of charges for store employee retention programs in the second and third quarters of fiscal 2014.

For the first quarter, the company reaffirmed its guidance for net loss of $0.16 to $0.19 per share, before non-cash asset impairments and charges related to the wind-down of Arden B operations. The company also confirmed that it expects comparable-store sales to be in the negative mid- to high- teens.