Early Monday, retailer American Apparel filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, seeking to trim about $200 million in debt among falling sales, changing tastes, and an ongoing legal soap opera involving ousted founder Dov Charney. The reorganization plan, if approved by the bankruptcy court in Delaware, would wipe out Charney's $8.2 million stake in the company, as well as those of other shareholders, The New York Times reports, placing control of the company largely in the hands of five hedge funds or investment firms. The company didn't announce any new layoffs in the filing and said its 130 U.S. stores and Los Angeles manufacturing operation would stay open during the restructuring process.
American Apparel, launched in 1989, was "the one-time arbiter of edgy made-in-America cool," notes The Times, but its fallen-on-hard-times story isn't unique: "Stores that cater to teenagers, like American Apparel, Abercrombie & Fitch, and Aeropostale, have especially struggled in the face of an onslaught of 'fast-fashion' labels and an increasingly fickle demographic more interested in the latest app or gadget than a pair of jeans."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale – a ‘comfort’ watch for fansThe Week Recommends The final film of the franchise gives viewers a chance to say goodbye
-
The Paper: new show, same 'warmth and goofiness'The Week Recommends This spin-off of the American version of The Office is ‘comfortingly and wearyingly familiar’
-
Rachel Jones: Gated Canyons – ‘riotously colourful’ works from an ‘exhilarating’ painterThe Week Recommends The 34-year-old is the first artist to take over Dulwich Picture Gallery’s main space
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposesspeed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wifespeed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
