American Apparel Emerges from Bankruptcy

Last week American Apparel announced it had emerged from Chapter 11 as a private company. The company filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in October of last year. However, the company has since then succeeded in implementing its reorganization plan and will now be known as American Apparel, LLC. The company says it will focus on designing fresh products, launching new marketing campaigns, and investing in brick-and-mortar retail locations.

American Apparel was founded by Dov Charney in 1989. In December 2014, the company announced the official termination of its founder, Chairman and CEO after allegations of misconduct.  Paula Schneider currently serves as the company’s CEO and Colleen Brown serves as Chairman. American Apparel, LLC is hoping these executive women can take this second chance and turn things around for the once leading company.

American Apparel currently operates 202 retail stores in 19 countries. There are 85 American Apparel stores in the United States, including 5 American Apparel Outlet locations. There are 30 American Apparel stores in Canada. American Apparel has seen a rise and fall in location count over the last decade.

Source: Chain Store Guide’s database of Apparel Specialty Stores

American Apparel is one of the largest apparel manufacturers in North America. In fact, U.S. Wholesale operations represent 30% of total sales. Nonetheless, the company’s sales curve emulates the curve created by the company’s store count.

Source: Chain Store Guide’s database of Apparel Specialty Stores

*Sales for fiscal 2015 are estimated by Chain Store Guide