American Apparel Names Kowalewski Chief Financial Officer

Los Angeles-based American Apparel Inc. announced Adrian Kowalewski has been appointed executive vice president and chief financial officer effective immediately. Kowalewski joined American Apparel in 2006 and has served as the company’s director of corporate finance and development for the past two years, where his responsibilities have included finance, corporate strategy and investor relations. Kowalewski has been a member of American Apparel’s board of directors since the completion of the merger with Endeavor Acquisition Corp. in December 2007. In his new role, Kowalewski will also have oversight over financial management, accounting and financial reporting, including Sarbanes-Oxley compliance. Dov Charney, chairman and CEO of American

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American Apparel Keeps Credit Options Open

Love them or hate them, there is apparently no denying (or perhaps even slowing) the clothing juggernaut that is American Apparel. In a tight credit market, in a state that may be bankrupt in two months, Dov Charney finds a way to move forward:
From American Apparel:
Dov Charney, chairman and chief executive officer, commented, “We are pleased to have secured these extensions to our loan maturities given the current difficulties in the credit markets. We have also had discussions with our lenders about the possibility of lengthening the maturity of our debt into 2010, and we will continue these discussions while we

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American Apparel Reports November 2008 Sales

American Apparel Inc. announced the company’s comparable store sales for the month of November 2008. The company reported that for the month of November 2008, sales for stores open for more than 12 months increased 6 percent over last year’s period, on a constant currency basis. For the month of November 2007, comparable store sales increased 42 percent. There were 153 stores in the sales comparison for November 2008. In addition, American Apparel opened 12 new retail stores during the month of November. About American Apparel American Apparel is a vertically integrated manufacturer, distributor and retailer of branded fashion basic apparel based in downtown

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American Apparel Issues Statement in Response to Lawsuit

Los Angeles-based American Apparel Inc. issued the following statement in response to news reports of a lawsuit filed by a former employee:
“American Apparel denies all of the allegations in Mr. Hernandez’s lawsuit and will vigorously defend itself and its shareholders in this contemptible action. Mr. Hernandez was a non-accounting employee in the information technology department who was terminated for legitimate reasons. The allegations in this lawsuit are fictional, which the company believes represents a cynical attempt to extract phony leverage by Mr. Hernandez’s counsel, Keith Fink, who has been engaged with the company in other litigation for over three years. The facts are

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Dollars and (Fashion) Sense

ECONOMY SHMECONOMY. NOT to be glib, but that headline has sold one too many papers these days. Yes, things are not necessarily prospering, however, what the general public should be talking about is how to respond to these given circumstances. Facing the unenviable challenge of helping end-buyers find value in items that can all-too-easily be considered “extraneous,” now more than ever, suppliers and distributors must continuously prove the worth of their wares. Showing how each garment can be used in a practical wardrobe application attaches a tangible benefit to every dollar spent, an essential formula for continuing to drive business through financially uncertain

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American Apparel Reports September 2008 Comparable Store Sales

Los Angeles-based American Apparel Inc. announced the company’s comparable store sales (unaudited) for the month of September 2008 and for the third quarter that ended September 30, 2008. American Apparel reported for the month of September 2008, sales for stores open for more than 12 months increased 15 percent over the year-ago period, on a constant currency basis. For the month of September 2007, comparable store sales increased 35 percent. There were 150 stores in the sales comparison for September 2008. For the third quarter ending September 30, 2008, comparable store sales increased 24 percent over the third quarter of 2007. As previously reported,

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L.A. Mayor Congratulates American Apparel on Economic Milestones

At a press conference attended by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Los Angeles-based American Apparel, operator of the largest garment factory in the U.S., announced the achievement of important milestones in a year of rapid global expansion of its business. The company stated its total worldwide employment recently topped 10,000 people, hiring approximately 3,500 employees since the beginning of the year. This number includes more than 2,500 manufacturing employees at its production facilities in Southern California. American Apparel now manufactures approximately 275,000 garments per day. The company also expanded its operations through the acquisition of a garment dye facility in December 2007 and a

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