American Apparel
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|
| Private | |
| Industry |
Retail Manufacturing |
| Founded | 1989 Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Founder | Dov Charney |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
|
Number of locations
|
273 (December 2010) |
|
Area served
|
Worldwide |
|
Key people
|
Paula Schneider (CEO) |
| Products | Clothing |
| Revenue |  US$ 608.89 million (2014) |
 US$ -27.41 million (2014)
|
|
|
US$ -68.82 million (2014)
|
|
| Total assets |
US$ 294.39 million (2014)
|
|
Number of employees
|
8,000 (September 2015) |
| Website | www |
American Apparel Inc. is a North American clothing manufacturer, designer, distributor, marketer and retailer based in Los Angeles, California. Founded by Dov Charney in 1989. It is a vertically integrated company that ranks as one of the largest apparel manufacturers and marketers in North America.
The company, which had not made a profit since 2009, filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. on October 5, 2015 in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California. It was reported that the brand then agreed to a plan with its creditors to convert $200 million of debt into equity, $90 million in debtor financing and $70 million in new capital. The company officially exited bankruptcy after its financial restructuring plan was accepted by the Bankruptcy Court in Delaware and became privately owned by its creditors and bond holders, thus severing ties with all former stockholders as well as ex-CEO and founder Dov Charney. In January 2017, Gildan Activewear purchased American Apparel's intellectual property and other assets for $88 million in a bankruptcy auction after the company filed for bankruptcy a second time in November 2016.
In January 2017, American Apparel laid off 2,400 Southern California workers and started the process of shutting down company factories and closing its 110 stores.
American Apparel was founded in 1989 by Canadian Dov Charney.
In 1997 after a variety of iterations, including a period of manufacturing in South Carolina, the company moved to Los Angeles. Charney began to sub-contract sewing with Sam Lim who, at the time, had a shop with 50 workers under the Interstate 10 freeway in east LA. Months later the two became partners. In 2000 American Apparel moved into its current factory in downtown Los Angeles where it continued to grow primarily as a wholesale business, selling blank T-shirts to screenprinters, uniform companies and fashion brands. After its experience as a wholesale brand, the company moved into the retail market. The company was ranked 308th in Inc.'s 2005 list of the 500 fastest growing companies in the United States, with a 440% three-year growth and revenues in 2005 of over US$211 million.
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Wikipedia