Bill Langsdorf named new CEO of Wet Seal

In an effort to turn the struggling company around, teen retail chain Wet Seal has let go of former CEO Ed Thomas, and replaced him with new CEO Bill Langsdorf. Langsdorf is the former CFO of California based sports retailer Tilly's Inc. Since November, he has been serving as an adviser to Wet Seal as the company makes an attempt to boost struggling sales numbers.

Langsdorf will also be handed a lot more responsibility, because in addition to his new role as CEO, he will also be taking on the titles of Wet Seal's CFO, President, and secretary. The departure of Thomas came along with the news that interim CFO and secretary Thomas R. Hillebrandt was also let go, and that four board of directors members, including Nancy Lublin, John Mills, Kenneth Reiss, and Denna Varshavskaya were resigning. All these changes come just as Versa Capital won the bid for Wet Seal at a bankruptcy auction last month.

Versa Capital's deal to buy out Wet Seal closed last week for 7.5 million dollars. Wet Seal filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection back in January; they were part of the string of casualties of teen retailers which also included Delia's Corp and Deb Shops. Wet Seal has struggled to find a turnaround plan that stuck, first trying to improve their plus-size selections and e-commerce channel, which wasn't as successful as they'd hope, then trying to cut back on promotions, which caused a price hike that shocked customers. Hopefully Langsdorf will be able to turn the retail chain around before we have to bid Wet Seal adieu.