The American Apparel Case

American Apparel is a clothing brand that is based in Los Angeles, California.

One of the concepts that set American Apparel apart from other brands is that all of the items are manufactured in the United States. The target customers of American Apparel are children, men, and women. The men and women are generally in their teens and early twenties. The price of the clothing is mid-range and is meant to appeal to middle class consumers. As of now, American Apparel is not doing well financially. The company has many debt payments that need to be made, and also, they have many legal fees that need to be paid as a result of the Dov Charney sexual harassment charges (Fickenscher 2015).

Their financial situation is so unfavorable that it is becoming

Potential of Marketplace/Plan:

First, American Apparel needs to evaluate its marketing strategy. It needs to do away with the sexual images and focus on the quality of its products. As of now, it seems

3 as though there are two contradictory images of American Apparel being projected.

There is the image of American-made, sweatshop-free products, and then there is the image of the sexually provocative marketing. Both of these images cannot coexist. When people see the sexual marketing, the first thing they are going to remember is the sexual harassment charges that occurred with the former CEO, Dov Charney. Part of the reason why American Apparel is in debt is because of these legal fees. Nevertheless, it is best to abandon this image and to take on a more positive one.

American Apparel needs to focus on the image of making the products in

America. It needs to create marketing that focuses on the positive affects of having

American made products. According to the American Apparel website, some of the positive affects are that it provides people with jobs, it allows for workers to make

When American Apparel creates a positive image in the United States and makes a profit once more, then it will be possible to assess the conditions in India. Since not all

5 people in India have the potential to spend or unwilling to spend on luxury products, it is important to find a location where stores similar to American Apparel exist. It would then be necessary to observe how customers interact with those products. It is important to determine how they respond to the advertising, the sales, and the displays. At times, different products are more popular in different parts of the world. It is often beneficial to create products that correspond to the needs of the people that reside there. For this reason, it is a good idea to examine the fashion trends in India and make decisions as to how it would be possible for American Apparel to make products that would represent those trends (D’Andrea, Marcotte, and Morrison 2010).

With time, I do think it would be possible for American Apparel to open a store in

India. Yet before American Apparel can obtain a good understanding of