Brand Inspiration Of "Alternative" Clothing Store

Losangeles has never been short of fashionable clothing brand, but the appearance of American Apparel (AA) is very bright, because it is not conventional, even a little "deviant".

AA was founded in 1986 by Canadian Dov Charney. The gossip, founder of the board who likes to be naked, transplanted her craziness to AA.

Most clothing companies in the United States have built factories in developing countries. Dov Charney has chosen to set up brand design centers and factories in lower Losangeles city to carry out local integrated production, and design, sewing, dyeing and product packaging are all completed in Losangeles. The label of "made in USA" made AA a big shot.

Those young people growing up in metropolis not only like colorful coloured bottompants and T-shirts in AA stores, but also attract by AA's bold advertisement.

Unlike the clothing brands that are very popular in inviting celebrities to speak, AA's advertising models come from the company's internal staff and consumers, or from the streets. Dov Charney believes that the biggest difference between the company and other brands is that AA's models never deliberately dress up and pretend to be mature. "The whole fashion world is talking about very young girls, and trying to make them look more mature. I think this is very artificial." Dov Charney commented. The standard of choosing models is "look like the girl next door you often meet".

The shooting of the commercials was completed by the production team, including Dov Charney and his girlfriend and creative director Mathew Swenson, located in the office area of AA. Mathew Swenson often meets young and handsome employees in the company hallway. After chatting, they invite to take photos in the studio. Mathew said: "here, always think of a good idea and do it immediately. Every day, you will see a lot of surprises. For example, today I like the smoky makeup of my colleague, and I will take her to take a picture right away. Every day we make thousands of photos and shoot them quickly to the design department. They choose and design them. Many advertisements are created like this. As for the sexiest girl in the poster just wearing a pair of stockings, Mathew said, "a pure girl can wear her own sex appeal, which is an implicit desire."

AA's advertisement is similar to the photography style of "Playboy" in 70 and 80s, which is sexy and somewhat provocative. While attracting a lot of attention from young customers, many people criticize the advertisement of AA as too revealing. As a result, AA is constantly being complained. ASA (British advertising standards authority) has ordered companies to withdraw advertisements several times. But Dov Charney still has its own way. A spokesman for the company made a public statement after the advertisement was banned: "we will abide by this decision, but we will not change the AA's internationally recognized classic aesthetic of social and artistic value." Last year, AA even launched the Isis King, a Supermodel of America's supermodel, to endorse its brand.

Not only that, in order to help immigrants get their legal status, AA confronting the government, organizing staff marches, and openly supporting gay groups. The company and the gay and lesbian anti slander Alliance (GLAAD) jointly launched the theme T-shirt series, and 15% of the proceeds from the sale were donated to GLAAD's community building.

As a clothing company, AA seems too rebellious. But by virtue of these topics, AA is popular among young people, and is rapidly becoming the largest clothing company in North America with production, distribution and retail. Its factory in Losangeles is the largest single garment factory in the United States today, producing more than 210 thousand T-shirts per day, handling 3800 SKU..

Only two years after its establishment, the company's sales volume has exceeded $200 million and was named the best retailer in the year 2008.

However, it didn't last long. In 2009, the company continued to be negative. The company finally had to dismiss 1500 migrant workers whose identity documents were invalid or had problems because the government departments found that a large number of employees did not have permission to work in the United States in the factory of AA. Dov Charney said in an open letter, "this is a difficult and heartbreaking moment."

Because of the speed of expansion, coupled with the impact of the US financial crisis, AA was in financial crisis this year and faced three options: renegotiate debt terms or raise $sixteen million, and apply for bankruptcy.

In March 13, 2009, on the eve of bankruptcy, a London based private equity firm, Lion Capital, came to the rescue and offered us $80 million in financing. The company has the ability to repay a loan of 51 million dollars, and finally avoid bankruptcy. It is said that the reason for investors to save the company is to look after the brand spirit of AA and appreciate its practice of providing reasonable remuneration for employees.

After the death of the company, the company began to adjust its business strategy, slow down the expansion of retail business, reduce the number of stores, and become more cautious in developing new markets. The company has also strengthened internal cost control.

At the same time, AA will shift the offline business to online, with the help of the electronic business platform. In 2010, the company and Amazon jointly opened online stores for the US market. In order to improve service quality, customers' small orders can also enjoy AA's low price express service. The cooperation was a great success. After that, the company added new stores to Amazon, UK, Germany and Japan.

In addition to having Amazon's online store, AA has opened 12 regional online stores. One of them is specially built for customers in Hongkong. The company relocalise it, and Hongkong's online shop adjusts its sales model based on local seasonal sales characteristics and holiday arrangements. Although orders are still shipped from factories in Losangeles, freight charges will be reduced by 10 US dollars through goods purchased by Hongkong regional stores.

In December 2012, AA online business created the highest monthly sales in the company's history, up 59% over the same period last year. In the fourth quarter of this year, the company's net income reached US $4 million 900 thousand, of which net orders grew by 42%. Compared with the loss of $11 million 200 thousand in the same period in 2011, the company has reversed the situation. From close down to successful counter attack, the rebellious AA staged a good play.