Breaking! Built By Wendy Closing West Coast Stores

Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.

NYC-based men's and women's label Built by Wendy, which has boutiques in LA and San Francisco, NYC and Brooklyn, will be shuttering its West Coast shops. The LA store at 7938 West 3rd Street will close Sunday, December 28, and will be holding sales until then with increasingly steep discounts. Sales staff said that the East Coast shops and its ecommerce site are thoroughly intact, and regarding the LA closure: "The LA store made a profit last year, so it's not like it's doing poorly. They seem to just be making a smart business decision given the economy."

This means one more empty retail space, on a stretch of empty spaces on the block save Scout, EM & Co., Pixie Market, Romp and recent addition Pinkyotto. This year, Known LA, Magenta, Threads and Danmark have closed. Though, from another local retailer, word is that a gallery is opening a few spots east: "I hear there's a gallery coming in and taking the former 'IN-HOUSE' empty space next to Romp." [RackedWire]