Foothill Ranch-based teen retailer Wet Seal Inc. has joined forces with pop singer Carly Rae Jepsen for a marketing campaign through the fall and holiday seasons.
Jepsen released her debut album—which includes the multiplatinum single Call Me Maybe—last month. Wet Seal is selling her album for a discounted price of $9.50 at retail locations and wetseal.com.
The strategy comes as Wet Seal struggles with slumping store sales amid its latest turnaround attempt.
Jepsen wears a variety of Wet Seal outfits in online ads and in-store displays. The campaign includes a chance to win a $1,000 Wet Seal shopping spree with Jepsen, as well as four tickets to an upcoming concert featuring Jepsen and fellow pop singer Justin Bieber.
Customers are asked to fill out a form on wetseal.com for a chance to win.
“We are excited to be working closely with Carly to launch this partnership,” said Ken Seipel, president and chief operating officer of Wet Seal. “Her sense of style and fun spirit has captured the hearts of our Wet Seal girls. We think she is a great ambassador for the Wet Seal brand.”
Wet Seal said that, as of August, it has been operating 551 stores in 47 states and Puerto Rico, including 469 Wet Seal stores and 82 Arden B stores. It had 7,283 companywide employees and 481 in OC as of March. 2011 revenue was $620.1 million.
The company has struggled to keep up with competitors in the fashion retail industry as of late. Wet Seal same-store sales have been down every month so far this year.
The Wet Seal board removed Chief Executive Susan McGalla from her position in July, citing a need to return to its fast-fashion merchandising strategy. A new chief executive has yet to be named.
Wet Seal shareholder New York-based private equity firm Clinton Group Inc. followed up on McGalla’s firing with a letter to Wet Seal’s board calling for a company sale.
The retailer is making changes to its board of directors. Two additions were approved last month, including former Wet Seal Chief Executive Kathy Bronstein along with former Charlotte Russe Inc. Chief Executive John Goodman.
Clinton Group attempted to replace the board with some additions of its own. Wet Seal responded with criticism of Clinton’s picks due to a lack of teen retail, fast-fashion, merchandising or operational experience. It asked shareholders to reject the proxy battle initiated by Clinton Group.
Commercial Printing
Santa Ana-based Foster Printing Co. plans to install one of the world’s largest sheet-fed presses at its 46,000-square-foot facility next month.
The KBA Rapida 205 is an 81-inch large-format six-color UV press with a price tag of about $8 million, according to the manufacturer.
It will join two existing KBA large format 64-inch presses.
Foster is the 16th largest commercial printer in Orange County, according to the Business Journal’s most recent list, with $9 million in revenue last year and 31 employees here.
“We’ve added employees and have seen nothing but growth in the past four years,” said Kris Blackburn, vice president of sales at Foster Printing.
Blackburn said there are 14 other KBA Rapida 205 presses in the U.S., with 13 of them in the Eastern states. He cited a need for the press as the driving force behind the purchase.
The press is used primarily for retail point-of-purchase displays, window signage and packaging.
“There’s plenty of need out here for this type of printing, and with our customer demand, we felt now was the right time to install the press,” Blackburn said.
Social Strategies
Among recent promotional strategies using social media:
n Costa Mesa-based Hyundai Motor America Inc. is doing a Facebook Hawaii vacation giveaway. Fans are asked to “like” the auto maker’s Facebook page for a chance to win a trip to Hawaii for the Hyundai-sponsored Tournament of Champions golf tournament in January.
n Huntington Beach-based apparel company Quiksilver Inc. does a weekly music spotlight featuring up-and-coming artists on Facebook for its Roxy women’s division.
Bits and Pieces
Irvine-based Yogurtland Franchising Inc.’s new tagline—Get Real—aims to remind customers that the chain uses real ingredients and real yogurt. The tagline is being advertised on a series of four yogurt cups, displays at stores, and through direct mail. … Irvine-based Bluetone Marketing & PR hired Alessandra Roqueta as social media coordinator to help with client social media campaigns.
