Interesting Reading - American Apparel

[screenxpress]

This link shows the top 10 companies expected to vanish from the landscape in 2011. 

One of them is AA.  This may be old news to some, but the article was interesting to read.

http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/112989/brands-disappear-2012-247

[JayzTeez]

wow sears i wonder what will happen with the craftsman line

[screenxpress]

Lends a new meaning to "lifetime warranty", eh?

[Screened Gear]

I hear this all the time from suppliers (that don't carry AA). AA is going out of business. No way is it true on the wholesale side. The retail stores? yes. the wholesale side no way. I have numerous clothing lines that will not use anything else. All the knockoffs are...junk. They all shrink inconsistently. I can't even offer many of them to my clients without worrying about them coming back, pissed.... (Hanes knockoff shrinks in the arms too much after wishing, gildans knockoff has a huge neck after washing, Canvas is a mess after washing much like the bellas (go figure). Anvil i have not tried but if it's like the others they make it will be the same. (if i am missing one let me know..,) American Apparel is top of the line in this industry (soft style wholesale shirts) Let me know what others think this is just my opinion after buying many of the others, washing them and then trying to wear them. Trust me i want a better knockoff so I can offer it to my clients. There is just not one that has as nice of material and shrinks consistently. I had a Tultex shrink 4 inches up on a v-neck. How can you sell that to a client with a straight face.

[squeegee]

Next Level has a decent product for the money, but AA definately trumps it.  Next Level direct is a real Cluster F though, so whenever possible I get mine from Bodek. 

[mk162]

We have customers choose Next Level over AA all the time.  I only get them from Bodek.

Anvil and gildan fashion tees have a long way to go. 

[JBLUE]

Look into Optima cotton. I use those a lot. Customers seem to like them. A lot cheaper than AA and ten times less fibrilation.

[Screened Gear]

Look into Optima cotton. I use those a lot. Customers seem to like them. A lot cheaper than AA and ten times less fibrilation.

Optima cotton? I have never heard of them. Where do you get them?

I forgot to mention that I did find a brand of girls shirts They are SunApparel. http://www.sun-apparel.com  The line is sungirl. They make nice looking patterns. The cost is good. You can get V-neck, swoop neck and crew neck at the same price. 

[brandon]

AA isn't going anywhere on the wholesale side. We are a small shop and do several thousand AA blanks a month. I know other shops here that do that in a day. I know people that work in large shops else where that print probably 20 thousand a day of them. Multilpy that times all the shops in the country. Its just their dumb retail stores on every other block that is killing them. I think there are about 5 or 6 in Seattle where I live. This is a small city to begin with so why the need for that many? Half of them are empty when I walk past them. Bad management of overhead and payroll. But their selection of styles and colors for wholesale for us printers is amazing. And they are in stock way more than Bella, Canvas, Next Level, District Threads or anyone else. Don't even get me started on DT, what a waste of cloth. Anyway, my two cents. Gotta' go!

[tonypep]

They recd a flush of fresh capital recently from an investment group. Dov is staying on board at least for now. The retail stores were a bad idea. Trying to be all things to all people usually isn't a good idea. Ask Ed Hardy.

[mk162]

Yeah, but with illegal immigrant crackdowns and the cost of goods and the influx of competitors, I don't know if that will help.

I agree, retail was the wrong way to go, but at least it drove up the percieved value on our end for our customers.  My folks loved that they could get them printed for $11 when the stores are selling them for $25.

[Sbrem]

Lends a new meaning to "lifetime warranty", eh?

Yeah, whose lifetime?

Steve

[tpitman]

Sad to see Sears failing. Their tool department has always been one of the most comprehensive, but for most common stuff, you can go to Lowes or Home Depot and get comparable tools with more convenience.

[Shawn (EIP)]

I'm a big fan of Hanes Nano and Anvil's Fitted tees. Tultex's 0202 are ok but very inconsistant.

Personaly I find AA a bit too thick, I'm wearing one right now. But they do stay true to size after washing.

So far my customers are loving the Hanes Nano tee. I've washed my personal sample at least 6 times and it still fits great.

[mk162]

thanks for that, I just saw those the other day and was wondering if they were any good.

the main thing is AA isn't the only game in town anymore.