Los Angeles Apparel

Last updated
Los Angeles Apparel Inc.
Type Private
Industry Manufacturing, Fashion
Founded2016
Los Angeles, United States
Founder Dov Charney
Headquarters Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Area served
 Worldwide
Key people
Dov Charney (CEO)
Products Clothing
Number of employees
1,500 (July 2022) [1]
Website

Los Angeles Apparel is a manufacturer, designer and distributor of clothing based in South-Central Los Angeles. [2] [3] The company was founded in 2016 by Dov Charney, the founder of American Apparel. [4] [5] [6] Los Angeles Apparel is a vertically integrated manufacturer, and currently employs over 1,500 personnel. [1] [7]

Contents

History

Los Angeles Apparel was founded by Dov Charney in 2016 in Los Angeles, California after he was ousted from American Apparel by its board. Charney rejected a $4.5 million severance package and role as "creative director" in the company [8] and launched Los Angeles Apparel as a wholesale business, similar to American Apparel's origins in 1989. [9]

About 90 percent of the factory's machinery once belonged to American Apparel. [10] [11] Charney bought fabric, computers, sewing machines, and other equipments from American Apparel in the bankruptcy sale. [12] In late 2016, Cincinnati based TSC Apparel made a multimillion-dollar business deal with Los Angeles Apparel, [13] selling the startup's clothes to concert producer Live Nation Entertainment and screen printers who previously purchased American Apparel. [7] [10] [14] [15]

Production

Los Angeles Apparel was started as a wholesale business. [16] The company is upfront about the fact that its clothing and business model is similar to that of American Apparel. [10] [17] Los Angeles Apparel is a manufacturer and distributor of apparel to screen printers, apparel companies, and boutiques. The company focuses on production of T-shirts, sweatshirts, cotton bodysuits and swimwear. [18]

The company is a vertically integrated manufacturer with knitting and dyeing done in Los Angeles. [17] Los Angeles Apparel's 100,000 square foot factory has a current capacity of 140,000 units per week. [17] [19] The company is devoted to keeping production domestic and employing garment workers in Los Angeles. [20]

Similar to the values held by American Apparel, the corporate identity has a commitment to "sweatshop free" manufacturing. [21] All workers earn fair wages, approximately $20 an hour with chance of productivity bonuses. [22] In an effort to emphasize the importance of the workers who produce the apparel, their names and faces were printed on the labels of shirts back in 2017. [23] Ethicality and humanness are themes congruent to the success of Los Angeles Apparel.

Corporate culture

Fair wage labor practice

Los Angeles Apparel supports and strives for fair wage labor practices. [24] The company's workers typically earn wages of $16.50 - $20 per hour. [24] The workers at Los Angeles Apparel own equity in the company making it employee owned. [20] The company focuses on local manufacturing and attempts to employ workers in the Los Angeles area. [4] [25]

Vertical integration

Los Angeles Apparel is a vertically integrated company, expanding its business operations into different steps on the same production path. [26] The company has total control over the supply chain from manufacturing to end sales. Los Angeles Apparel purchases textile and yarn products made in USA, supporting local manufacturing. [27] More than half of yarn utilization is acquired from domestic sources. [28] [19]

Environment friendly production

Los Angeles Apparel integrates organic cotton and reclaimed cotton into their supply chain. The company plans to recycle almost 100 percent of their waste by 2018.

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References

  1. 1 2 Deborah, Belgum (July 12, 2022). "Los Angeles' Recent Minimum Wage Hike Challenges Apparel Factories". Women's Wear Daily. Archived from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
  2. ↑ Howland, Daphne (June 26, 2016). "Dov Charney's American Dream". Retail Dive. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
  3. ↑ Quirk, Mary Beth (June 23, 2016). "Ousted American Apparel Founder Dov Charney Tries Again With Los Angeles Apparel". Consumerist . Retrieved August 11, 2017.
  4. 1 2 Asch, Andrew (June 22, 2016). "Charney's Los Angeles Apparel Factory Staffs Up, Looks for Growth". Apparel News. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
  5. ↑ Abarbanel, Aliza (September 26, 2016). "Dov Charney Is Back With A New Line of Sexualized Basics". Business of Fashion . Retrieved August 11, 2017.
  6. ↑ Sherman, Lauren (June 27, 2017). "Dov Charney's Next Act". PM Magazine. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
  7. 1 2 Sauer, Abe (June 26, 2017). "American Apparel's Dov Charney Is Back With Los Angeles Apparel". Brandchannel. Archived from the original on June 27, 2018. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
  8. ↑ Edwards, Jim. "Inside the 'conspiracy' that forced Dov Charney out of American Apparel". Business Insider. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
  9. ↑ Tsui, Diana (June 27, 2017). "Can You Distinguish Dov Charney's New Line From His Old One?". The Cut . Retrieved August 11, 2017.
  10. 1 2 3 Taylor, Kate (July 13, 2017). "American Apparel's founder seems to be resurrecting his 'dead' brand under a new name". Yahoo! Finance . Retrieved August 11, 2017.
  11. ↑ Kale, Neha (July 12, 2017). "Ex-American Apparel CEO Dov Charney is counting on your amnesia for his fashion comeback". The Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved August 3, 2017.
  12. ↑ Townsend, Matthew (July 12, 2017). "Dov Charney Couldn't Keep American Apparel, So He Restarted It". Bloomberg . Retrieved August 11, 2017.
  13. ↑ Promogram (April 5, 2017). "TSC Apparel Partners With Charney-Run Los Angeles Apparel". Promogram. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
  14. ↑ Feldman, Ari (July 12, 2017). "Dov Charney Is Remaking American Apparel. Can He Remake Himself?". The Forward . Retrieved August 11, 2017.
  15. ↑ Anderson, Caroline (April 6, 2017). "Dov Charney's Los Angeles Apparel Inks Deal with American Apparel Distributor". Los Angeles Business Journal . Retrieved August 11, 2017.
  16. ↑ Rastello, Sandrine (August 3, 2017). "American Apparel Is Ready to Relaunch Its Website". Bloomberg . Retrieved August 11, 2017.
  17. 1 2 3 Belgum, Deborah (February 2, 2017). "Dov Charney: From American Apparel to Los Angeles Apparel". Apparel News. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
  18. ↑ Rovu, Christopher (June 21, 2017). "American Apparel: End of An Original". ASIcentral. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
  19. 1 2 Lam, Bourree (January 14, 2017). "Goodbye, American Apparel". FashionUnited . Retrieved August 11, 2017.
  20. 1 2 Bernstein, Andrea (June 22, 2017). "Why Dov Charney hasn't given up on making clothes". KPCC . Retrieved August 11, 2017.
  21. ↑ Pugh, Ezra; Drost, Ellen A. (2021). "Los Angeles Apparel: Locally Made in a Global Market". Entrepreneurship Education and Pedagogy. 4 (4): 778–796. doi:10.1177/2515127420982511. S2CID   234452045.
  22. ↑ "Our Mission".
  23. ↑ Pugh, Ezra; Drost, Ellen A. (2021). "Los Angeles Apparel: Locally Made in a Global Market". Entrepreneurship Education and Pedagogy. 4 (4): 778–796. doi:10.1177/2515127420982511. S2CID   234452045.
  24. 1 2 Scott, Anna (December 6, 2017). "Post American Apparel, Dov Charney says he'll pay a fair wage at his new company". KCRW . Retrieved August 11, 2017.
  25. ↑ TFL (July 13, 2017). "Dov Charney's New Company Will Likely Be Rife with Legal Battles, as Well". The Fashion Law. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
  26. ↑ Taylor, Kate (July 13, 2017). "The brand, called Los Angeles Apparel, launched in late 2016". Business Insider . Retrieved August 11, 2017.
  27. ↑ Gallot, Clementine (April 5, 2017). "A suivi l'ex-PDG Dov Charney dans le lancement de sa nouvelle entreprise, Los Angeles Apparel". Libération . Retrieved August 11, 2017.
  28. ↑ Ehlers, Sara (August 31, 2016). "Dov Charney starts anew with innovative apparel company". FashionUnited . Retrieved August 11, 2017.
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