Business appears to be going well for Los Angeles Apparel.
The directional basics brand started by American Apparel founder and former CEO Dov Charney reportedly signed a 10-year lease for the company’s flagship New York store on Broadway in SoHo, according to a real estate trade publication.
The planting of more permanent roots at 480 Broadway comes after Charney sought to test the location initially as a pop-up shop. The two-level, 25,000-square-foot store is close to a PacSun, Zara Madewell and Bloomingdale’s, located between Broome and Grand streets.
The ”super store” opened in September and bookended the country with the company’s fashion-forward T-shirts, sweatshirts, underwear and other basics. It followed Los Angeles Apparel’s first-ever store located at its South Central factory.
Second Act?
Much like Charney’s predecessor company in American Apparel, Los Angeles Apparel is following in the former firm’s footsteps with brick-and-mortar, albeit it at a faster clip.
Charney quietly launched Los Angeles Apparel in 2016, starting with a modest factory floor on the outskirts of Downtown Los Angeles after he was ousted from American Apparel in late 2014, dogged by allegations of sexual harassment and a troubled business.
While his former firm struggled under the turnover of two CEOs in Paula Schenider and then Chelsea Grayson and two bankruptcies in October 2015 and February 2016, Charney reinserted himself back into Los Angeles’s fashion landscape almost seamlessly.
American Apparel subsequently was bought out of bankruptcy in 2017 by Gildan Activewear.
Los Angeles Apparel made waves with heavier knits and garment dye techniques that immediately became the calling card of several streetwear brands followed by other fashion firms.
Whether Charney aims to build something as large or larger than American Apparel remains to be seen.
At its peak, American Apparel grew to revenue of more than $600 million and nearly 300 stores.
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