Teen fashion retailer in St. Clair Square mall to close

Retailer Wet Seal, known for selling fast fashion to teens, is closing all stores nationwide, including its location in St. Clair Square mall.

All sales were final as of Friday at the Fairview Heights store and items were heavily discounted. Manager Angie Boyer said the store will likely close in the next two months after all clothing and fixtures have been sold. In addition to Boyer’s full-time management job, the store employs eight part-time employees and one full-time assistant manager, Boyer said.

The retailer joins a rash of recent store closings marked by announcements of closures from Kmart, Sears, Macy’s and The Limited. The Limited store in the mall closed earlier this month.

Wet Seal closed hundreds of its locations in 2015, according to Business Insider. The company then filed for bankruptcy protection. The company operates 171 stores in 42 states, according to the company’s website.

When additional funding or a buyer couldn’t be found, the store informed its employees at the Irvine, Calif., headquarters they would all be permanently laid off, according to a Jan. 20 letter obtained by the Wall Street Journal.

According to a mass layoff warning submitted to the state, 178 employees would be affected by the headquarters shutting its doors. The layoffs will go into effect March 21.

This story was originally published January 27, 2017 at 2:30 PM with the headline "Teen fashion retailer in St. Clair Square mall to close."