American Apparel to close all U.S. stores and lay off 3,400 employees

The American Apparel saga is finally over.

The company that suffered through the dismissal of its founder and chief executive, struggling sales, two bankruptcies and Gildan Activewear’s $103 million takeover will be shutting its doors in the United States.

The company’s 110 stores, along with its Los Angeles headquarters, will close by April, and 3,400 people are expected to lose their jobs.

Gildan spokesman Garry Bell said his company never intended to keep open any of American Apparel’s stores. “The reality is this wasn’t a purchase of an ongoing concern,” he told The New York Times.

Gildan’s intent was to acquire the brand’s intellectual property and some of the manufacturing equipment. American Apparel filed for bankruptcy twice in two years, most recently in November 2016.

[Free download: 13 musts for breaking bad news to employees.]

Reactions on Twitter were decidedly mixed as people found out that their local chain would close:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en"

I'm glad American Apparel is closing. I remember when employees and models of American Apparel came forward with sexual harassment lawsuits.

— NANA JIBRIL 🌙 (@girlswithtoys) January 14, 2017

Can't believe American Apparel is closing for real... thank you for all the friends, opportunities and free clothes❤️

— CAM (@caaaaameron) December 30, 2016

American Apparel is closing all their stores in Canada and this makes me very sad considering half my wardrobe is from there 😭😭😭😭🙃

— jasmine (@badgaljizz) December 29, 2016

So the @americanapparel here in London is having a closing sale & ya girl took advantage of it ($800+ worth for $200 ppl) !!!¡¡! http://pic.twitter.com/kEXNvT4ZEI

— 💫robyn💫 (@FunSizedRobyn) January 3, 2017

The closure of its stores doesn’t mean the brand is dead, however. American Apparel is expected to live on through its wares, which are expected to be sold in big-box chain stores.

However, future American Apparel clothing is not expected to be manufactured in Los Angeles, one of the brand’s defining characteristics.

(Image via)

from PR Daily News Feed http://ift.tt/2j1Y6NA