What happened to the brand American Apparel is story of rapid rise and fall, bankruptcy, and relaunch under new ownership, with brand going from made in USA cult favorite to bankrupt to online-only brand owned by Canadian company. American Apparel was founded in 1989 in Los Angeles, California, by Dov Charney, Canadian-American entrepreneur, known for made in USA basics like t-shirts, hoodies, leggings, and provocative ads, growing to over 250 stores worldwide and 10,000 employees, with factory in downtown LA employing thousands, peak revenue over 600 million dollars in 2013, popular with youth for basics and American-made ethos. However, company faced problems including heavy debt over 200 million, lawsuits over labor and sexual harassment allegations against Charney, declining sales due to competition from fast fashion like H&M and Zara, and controversial ads. Charney was fired in 2014. Company filed for bankruptcy in October 2015 and again in November 2016, closing stores. In January 2017, Gildan Activewear, Canadian company headquartered in Montreal, Canada, bought American Apparel brand and intellectual property for 88 million dollars at bankruptcy auction, but did not buy stores or LA factory, closing all 110 remaining stores and LA manufacturing. Gildan relaunched American Apparel as online-only brand at americanapparel.com, selling basics now made in Honduras and Nicaragua, not made in USA, focusing on e-commerce and wholesale, keeping brand alive but much smaller.
1 votes
Marked as accepted