[6] The Wet Seal, Inc. and its subsidiaries operated as a specialty retailer of apparel and accessory items for women in the United States.

The company's Wet Seal stores offered apparel and accessories for teenage girls.

[9] In 2013, Wet Seal reached a $7.5 million (~$9.67 million in 2023) settlement with minority plaintiffs who charged that the company directed managers to fire African American employees who they thought did not fit the company's brand image which is the "Armani look, white, blond hair and blue eyes.

"[10] In January 2015, because of increased competition in the teen clothing sector, Wet Seal shuttered a number of stores despite previously indicating to employees that the outlets would stay open.

Employees responded to this termination procedure by posting signs in the front windows outlining the way that Wet Seal management communicated the closures to staff and the relatively paltry compensation received.

[13][14] On January 27, 2017, Business Insider and other news outlets reported that Wet Seal was closing all of its stores immediately and terminating all staff and employees,[15] part of an American retail phenomenon of store closures known as the retail apocalypse.