2 more stores closing down in Westgate Mall

Add Body Central and The Deb Shop to the list of retailers quitting business.

Following on the heels of Wet Seal, Body Central and The Deb Shop have closed or are in the process of closing all of their fashion retail stores, including locations at Westgate Mall.

"These Body Central store closing and Deb's bankruptcy filing were not surprising," Westgate Mall General Manager Brian Giffin said. "These companies have been in trouble for some time. We are working with a number of retailers who are very interested in coming into the Amarillo market."

Body Central was to have closed its stores Sunday, Gardner Davis, an attorney for Body Central Corp., told The Associated Press. No one answered the Amarillo store's telephone line Monday.

That's a shuttering of 265 stores in 28 states, according to Davis, who said the Jacksonville, Fla., company's 2,500 employees were notified Friday.

Philadelphia-based Deb Shop began going-out-of-business sales at all of its 287 stores Friday, according to information from Gordon Brothers Group and Hilco Merchant Resources.

Last Wednesday, a U.S. bankruptcy court awarded Gordon Brothers and Hilco the job of liquidating and closing the stores.

An employee at the Westgate Mall Deb Shop confirmed the closing-business sale is ongoing.

Deb Shops filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Dec. 4. Chapter 11 bankruptcy temporarily protects a company from creditors while it reorganizes its finances.

Deb Shops locations will remain open until all merchandise has been sold, a news release said.

Deb Shops' website has been converted to a single-page banner promoting the closing sales. Deb, which is privately held, reported assets of $90.5 million and liabilities of $120.1 million as of Dec. 31, Bloomberg News reported.

Body Central was exploring its options, including Chapter 11, but couldn't raise the capital it needed to reorganize, according to company news releases and AP.

Body Central's net revenues decreased 28.6 percent, dropping from $55.7 million at the end of the third quarter 2013 to $41.5 million at the end of the third quarter this year, its Nov. 6 earnings report showed.

The company posted a net loss of $16.7 million, compared with $9 million, year over year.

Body Central has been in business for more than 40 years, while Deb Shops had passed the 80-year mark.

Fashion retailer Wet Seal closed nearly 340 stores Jan. 6, including a location at Westgate Mall.

The closings axed nearly 3,700 full-and part-time jobs and amounted to two-thirds of the chain operated by The Wet Seal Inc. About 170 remain open, according to the Foothill Ranch, Calif., company.

Wet Seal had net sales of $104.3 million at the close of its third quarter, which ended Nov. 1, a drop of more than $10 million from the previous third-quarter report.

It showed a third-quarter operating loss of $36.3 million, compared with $12.4 million, year over year.

Body Central occupied nearly 4,000 square feet at Westgate Mall, with the Deb Shop store running almost 6,900 square feet and Wet Seal using about 3,800 square feet, Giffin said.

"The mall was 99.6 percent leased as of December," Giffin said. "We are currently 96 percent leased after the Body Central and Wet Seal closings and a couple of seasonal stores leaving."