Who? You may have heard of American Apparel which is a clothing brand I endorse and often buy as much as possible from. Their stuff doesn’t really cost that much more in the realm of shirts, especially when you see what crap from abroad goes for at Abercrombie & Fitch, the Gap and Express. The underwear is a bit over yet I prefer to keep the money here since it’s never coming back when it leaves for China, Pakistan, Vietnam and Indonesia. Latin America is a different matter.
Anyway, the only element of AA I’ve never liked is its founder, Dov Charney. He is a sleazebag and a sexual harassment lawsuit waiting to happen. No wait, it pretty much did, hence the board finally grew a set and overthrew him. He vows to fight back, of course. If he’s smart (and he’s not), he should walk away, be grateful the board doesn’t do more. They probably can’t as they’re too busy trying to save the company.
It sucks when a really great product/idea is marred by a sociopath. It isn’t a new story, see Edison, Ford, etc. I do beg to differ with the Guardian. AA makes money outside of direct sales to the public. You will often find their shirts used for concerts, the numerous choices online (tshirthell.com) and corporate events. I’m rather curious about where in the UK are people paying £30 ($50USD). Guardian, you may want to tell your UK readers to make a trip to Austin for a week, soak up our ambiance and load up at the outlet mall in Round Rock where the shirts are much cheaper.