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Posted on Fri, Jul 23, 2010 : 5:52 a.m.

Wet Seal retail store becomes Briarwood Mall's newest tenant

By Brian Vernellis

Briarwood Mall continues to add new tenants this summer.

Shortly after it was announced that MC Sports would move into the space formerly occupied by Briarwood Dollar Movies 4, Wet Seal announced plans to move into Ann Arbor's largest shopping center.

Wet Seal, a California-based retail store targeting females 13 to 19 years old, will move into the former Borders Express location in September. The company signed a 10-year lease for the 5,700-square feet space.

“We’re always excited to bring in a national player willing to invest in the community,” said Denise Murray, Briarwood Mall’s director of marketing and business development.

“The trend in retail for many shopping arenas has been to have shorter term tenants. Long-term tenants weren’t making commitments. We’ve been fortunate in that we have big players coming to Briarwood and Ann Arbor.”

Murray said the store would begin interviewing for positions in mid-August.

Wet Seal has 14 locations in metro Detroit, Okemos, Flint, Portage, Saginaw and Grand Rapids. The store has not had grand opening in the greater Detroit region since 2006.

Wet Seal’s parent company, The Wet Seal Inc., also operates Arden B. retail stores. As of Nov. 28, the company operated 424 Wet Seal stores and 80 Arden B. stores in 47 states, Puerto Rico and Washington D.C.

The Wet Sea Inc., announced last week that comparable store sales for the five-week period ended July 3, decreased 3.6 percent. The same period for 2009 saw a decrease of 11.1 percent.

“It’s one of those stores that people continually call for and ask about,” Murray said. “They are well-rounded and a good brand with a lot of brand recognition.”

Other recent changes at the mall include the addition of Pandora and two other jewelry stores.

Brian Vernellis is a reporter for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at 734-623-4617 or brianvernellis@annarbor.com.