Since purchasing Los Angeles-based American Apparel for $88 million last January and shuttering all of the brand’s stores following bankruptcy, Gildan Activewear Inc. (Montréal) has announced it will open one test store in the retailer’s hometown on Melrose Avenue.
The store will open where a former American Apparel store once stood, but will be slightly smaller, and will serve as a trend incubator for the company’s e-commerce outlets, reports the Los Angeles Times. The site will also serve as a hub for customers to experience the brand in person, explained Gildan Spokesperson Garry Bell, letting customers “take part in the full American Apparel experience beyond just buying products.”
American Apparel once operated 280 stores and five factories with sales totaling more than $600 million. Since relaunching its website last August, it served customers in 200 countries last month.
A major change since the Gildan acquisition is the reversal of the company’s “Made in America” marketing, since most of the brand’s clothing is now produced in Central America or elsewhere, though it still claims to be “ethically produced” and “sweatshop-free,” according to its website.