Reeling from a net loss of over $100 million in 2014, apparel retailer Wet Seal is closing many stores, and has laid off 3695 employees nationwide in the process. Some of those newly-unemployed workers are right here in Bethesda.
Wet Seal has closed at Westfield Montgomery Mall, and its lower-level space between Aeropostale and The Body Shop has been cleared out. BuzzFeed recently
reported that the company is pinning a turnaround on edgier marketing to 18-to-24-year-old women, rather than the "juvenile" audience it is drawing today.
This is only the latest downward spiral for the chain, which was
forced to settle a lawsuit alleging it was intentionally hiring more white store employees to "lighten up" the racial diversity of its staff.
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