February sales at Foothill Ranch-based mall clothing retailer Wet Seal Inc. rose an unexpected 4.7%, surprising analysts who were projecting a decline.
Analysts were looking for a 2.9% fall in sales at stores open at least a year.
Wet Seal, which runs 501 stores selling clothes for teen girls and young woman, said it saw higher same-store sales at both of its chains.
The company’s dominant Wet Seal chain for teen girls saw same-store sales rise 3.4% from a year earlier. Same-store sales at its Arden B. chain for young women rose 12.4%.
Overall sales for the four weeks through Feb. 27 rose 7.4% to $42.7 million.
The gain in monthly same-store sales—a key measurement for retailers as it measures growth at existing stores—is the first for Wet Seal in more than a year.
The company has struggled during the recession as well as competition from Los Angeles-based Forever 21 and others, which have fared better during the downturn.
Lower prices and having more clothes on hand that people wanted to buy drove Wet Seal’s same-store sales gain, Chief Executive Ed Thomas said.
The gain came despite winter storms that snowed in parts of the east for much of the month, he said.
