American Apparel's Leaked Bankruptcy Email

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How is American Apparel weathering the economy, anyway? The company laid off several hundred workers last month, but compared with other retailers, they're still in the clover. (One great thing about their customer base: Not many hipsters invested with Bernie Madoff.) CEO Dov Charney has been telling the press that their fourth quarter was strong, but if you asked new CFO Adrian Kowalewski, you might get a different answer.

"We almost went bankrupt last Friday," Kowalewski wrote in a Christmas Eve e-mail that ended up in the hands of reporters, including one at the Los Angeles Business Journal. Sadly, the LABJ was woefully unspecific about how exactly they intercepted the email, which strikes us as the best part of the story. (Are we talking about hardcore investigative journalism here, or an accidental CCing?) Their article does include this pertinent detail, though: Only 16 new AA stores will open next year. That number might not sound low, but the company opened five times as many in 2008 alone.
· American Apparel Lays Off Several Hundred [Racked]
· Cutting It Close [LABJ]