Will new branding turn American Apparel around?

There was a contradiction at the heart of American Apparel in its heyday that put fans of the chain in an awkward position. While the company made its clothes in the U.S. and was avowedly sweatshop-free, there was a darker side. The company’s ads often crossed the line from edgy to overly sexualized. Dov Charney, American Apparel’s founder was behind its marketing efforts until he was ousted in 2014 for cause. Today, the company is looking to distance itself from Mr. Charney’s American Apparel, if not atone for it.

In an interview with Adweek, Cynthia Erland, senior vice president of marketing at American Apparel, revealed the retailer’s plan to expand its range of sizes while vowing to promote inclusivity. The company’s upcoming “Perfect T-Shirt” campaign is aimed at “influencers and creatives of all ages, shapes and sizes,” said Ms. Erland.

She further noted that American Apparel is working with the Millennial-targeted female undergarment brand, Me and You. Me and You describes its product as “feminist underwear” and “granny panties.” In the interview, Ms. Erland referenced the appeal of these products for “real-sized women.”

When asked if American Apparel’s advertising would maintain the sexual overtones that made it famous, Ms. Erland did not indicate a strong stance either way, but stressed the need to evolve with the marketplace.

“It’s definitely going to be gritty, real, independent and revolutionary, with young artists,” Ms. Erland told Adweek. “It may be sexual; it may not. It will be how they freely express themselves.”

American Apparel has been in rocky financial territory over the past few years both due to the highly publicized transgressions of Mr. Charney and because sales have fallen off. CEO Paula Schneider came in to replace Mr. Charney and turn the company around in December, 2014. In October, 2015, the chain declared bankruptcy, which it exited last month.

Source: American Apparel Facebook timeline – 2014

BrainTrust

"You know, American Apparel has all the elements to help it return to success. I hope the company can find that ever-rarer breed: A merchant with a good eye that can use technology to support maximizing the value of its store square footage."

Paula Rosenblum

Co-founder, RSR Research


"Those days may be gone forever but, then again, it is fashion and Lacoste is proof that there are, in fact, not only second — but third — acts in American commerce."

Ryan Mathews

Founder, CEO, Black Monk Consulting


"More inclusive branding may help but the strong new position needs to be obvious and consistent. Allowing creatives to express themselves freely is not a strong positioning statement."

Camille P. Schuster, PhD.

President, Global Collaborations, Inc.


Discussion Questions

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: Will new, more inclusive branding help bring American Apparel back to the success of its heyday? What else should American Apparel do to successfully revive its brand?

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Paula Rosenblum
Paula Rosenblum
8 years ago

You know, American Apparel has all the elements to help it return to success. It can be fast, like Forever 21, and it will gain back good will from customers. It has a stable of suppliers on the west coast.

It just really needs merchants. Badly. Focusing on marketing and operations is great for pushing out a message, and I’ll never object to plus-sized fashions anywhere, but the products themselves have to be interesting and on-trend.

I was thinking that “endless aisle” is a perfect application for space-constrained American Apparel stores. Show a couple of each size and color and let the customer take delivery of the combination of her choice. It would be a great opportunity for them.

I hope the company can find that ever-rarer breed: A merchant with a good eye that can use technology to support maximizing the value of its store square footage.

Tom Redd
Tom Redd
8 years ago

Tough one to call. Their many competitors have eaten up a lot of the marketshare that they left open. To consider:

  1. Rename. Like A. Apparel — not a total rename but a shorter more Millennial and simple-to-text name.
  2. Ramp up the social marketing squad and relaunch the shop. Break the rules of old retail and leverage some new channels.
  3. Do an ad with the CEO and GMM. Talking about their screw ups in the past and the new shoppers they serve.
  4. They need some major stars and especially sports people wearing their clothes/brands.
  5. Get some major promo space in the college sports season — hoop and football and soccer (field signage/ads on media).
  6. Cut a deal with Under Armour — give UA some styles to co-brand with their new technology in the clothing.
  7. Give Tom Redd (me) a gift certificate since I helped.
  8. Do four customer surveys per quarter or more often. Act on what the customers want.
  9. Last, offer a loyalty program. Kids can earn A. Apparel bucks. Spend on clothes or donate.
Ryan Mathews
Ryan Mathews
8 years ago

Those days may be gone forever but, then again, it is fashion and Lacoste is proof that there are, in fact, not only second — but third — acts in American commerce.

As to what American Apparel can do to boost sales, they might think of starting with as clean a slate as possible, distancing themselves from the past and building the future on the back of new sub-brands.

Camille P. Schuster, Ph.D.
Camille P. Schuster, Ph.D.
8 years ago

More inclusive branding may help but the strong new position needs to be obvious and consistent. Allowing creatives to express themselves freely is not a strong positioning statement. The wide variety of approaches mentioned in the article is also not consistent. Without a strong positioning approach their message will be lost.

Gordon Arnold
Gordon Arnold
8 years ago

A large part of the Millennial population is unemployed, underemployed and broke. For that reason I am not excited about the plan. Steering the company towards the all-ages spending class would seem a better goal, but it is what it is. The sales reports I am seeing say the heydays are gone and replaced with relevance and value. A big score in this effort may not yield the store contribution to corporate needed to make plan.

Craig Sundstrom
Craig Sundstrom
8 years ago

Was it ever really a success, or was it just a fad? The problem isn’t just that its core premise — we CAN make it here and be competitive — is one of those mom-and-apple-pie concepts that always ends up crashing on the financial rocks on the way to market. Just ask Walmart how well their “made in America” initiative went. It’s that even then it was felt necessary to augment the message with another…yeah THAT one.

Hmm, now that I’ve written it down, it seems that it was really just one big problem “solved” the old-fashioned way, i.e. not showing any green? Show some skin! But if Playboy can’t cut it anymore pandering to the softcore crowd, I don’t think AA can either … and without that ..um, distinction, it ‘s just another face in a too-big crowd of retailers.

Doug Garnett
Doug Garnett
8 years ago

Fascinating that a fundamental business problem gets described as a “brand” problem so often. But here’s American Apparel — high visibility, lots of retail locations, all the “brand values” that are really important. A strong brand. Except some serious business problems (like perhaps clothing that’s no longer as popular as it once was)….

So someone poses this theory that they can tweak the brand in a way that’s dramatically effective for business. Except, an established brand can only be moved in the near term with micro-changes. Those aren’t the changes that turn around the business.

Still, there are plenty of consultants and ad agencies who will sell them the idea that they can be saved by “more inclusive branding.” Sadly, too many companies buy off on it.

Brands take decades to build. They don’t change quickly. And maybe they need to look at their next evolution. But that change will take 5 years — it won’t show on the financials in the next two years.