American Apparel Inc. Announces Comparable Sales for December 2013 Decreased 6 Percent

Los Angeles-based American Apparel Inc., a vertically integrated manufacturer, distributor and retailer of branded fashion basic apparel, announced preliminary sales for the month of December 2013.

On a preliminary basis, total net sales were $60.5 million, a decrease of 6 percent over the prior year. Comparable sales decreased 6 percent, including a 7 percent decrease in comparable store sales in the retail store channel and a 1 percent decrease in net sales in the online channel. Wholesale net sales decreased 2 percent for the month. For the year ended Dec. 31, 2013, total net sales increased 3 percent to $633.9 million, with a 3 percent increase in comparable sales and a 4 percent increase in wholesale net sales.

"Some of the causes of our reduced comp store sales in the month of December include: (1) the fact that we were up against a positive 15 percent comp from last year; (2) a compressed shopping season, the result of Thanksgiving falling later than it has in a decade; (3) under-buying of some of our strongest selling items for the season because our management team was intensely distracted during the implementation of our new distribution center (which is now successfully completed); and (4) December 2013 had one less Saturday than 2012 and unlike most other retailers we use the actual calendar in reporting comparable store sales, as opposed to the retail reporting calendar,” said Dov Charney, chairman and CEO.

“It is also noteworthy that our sales improved toward the end of the month (the last week of the month comparable store sales were only down 1.7 percent), as opposed to the beginning of the month when we felt our consumer was 'shopped out' as a result of Black Friday,” he continued. “Although December was disappointing, and we could face a challenging environment for the remainder of the winter, our management team is energized and we are excited about our prospects for Spring and Summer 2014 as well as for the calendar year as a whole."