The county’s two mall retailers saw November same-store sales plunge, though Anaheim-based Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. did better than Wall Street had expected while Foothill Ranch-based Wet Seal Inc. fared worse.
Pacific Sunwear, which sells clothes inspired by surfing and skateboarding, saw sales at stores open at least a year fall 10% last month versus a year earlier.
The drop is the latest in a running decline for Pacific Sunwear. But it was better than the 14.3% decline analysts were bracing for.
One analyst still is skeptical: “We think this is a broken story for the time being,” Robert W. Baird & Co. analyst Mitch Kummetz wrote in a recent report.
Pacific Sunwear said it saw sales pick up on Black Friday, when the chain saw a 2% rise.
Total sales for the month fell 8% to $101 million.
Wet Seal, which runs clothing stores for teen girls and young women, saw November sales drop 13.9% as its Arden B. chain is in a pronounced slump.
Analysts on average expected a 10.8% drop.
Same-store sales fell 9.7% at the company’s dominant Wet Seal chain for teen girls and 28% at Arden B., geared toward young women.
Total sales for the month fell 13% to $46 million.
For most of this year, Wet Seal has held up better than other retailers as cost cutting and changes to the clothes it sells have boosted profits even as sales declined.
Now what is the worst retail downturn in recent memory seems to be bearing down on Wet Seal.
Some analysts have suggested the company may have to sell off or close its Arden B. chain.
“While still early in the holiday selling season, November sales reflect a difficult beginning to this period,” Chief Executive Ed Thomas said.
