American Apparel Swot Anaysis Essay - 3402 Words

American Apparel SWOT Analysis Marketing 304 Section 12382 Group# 5 Nancy Alonzo Yavon Irving Salvador Bustos Cory Lashinsky American Apparel is a vertically integrated clothing manufacturer, wholesaler, and retailer. AAI is best known for making basic, solid color T-shirts and undergarments. They have expanded into dresses, denim, bedding, pants, and accessories for men, women, children, babies, and dogs. Their long-term goal it to become the #1 destination for basic apparel – the first name that consumers think of for t-shirts, sweatpants, underwear, socks, etc. What sets American Apparel apart from other clothing companies is that every aspect of their production takes place in the center of Los Angeles, California,†¦show more content†¦Fruit of the Loom, Hanes, and Gildans’ weaknesses include not actively cooperating with WRC (workers’ rights consortium) investigations, and giving incorrect severance pay to laid off workers. Other weaknesses include the employment of sweatshop workers and the exportation of employment opportunities to other countries. As a vertically integrated company, they manufacture, wholesale, and retail their own clothing line. They independently own and operate over 280 retail stores in 20 countries. American Apparel sells directly to its customers through their AmericanApparel.net website. The site has an online inventory of over 250,000 items and receives 1.5 million visitors per month. Online sales grew from $13.3 million in 2006 to roughly 40 million in 2009. The company’s site also runs on the Yahoo Stores platform and is included in the Internet Retailer 500 index. They also sell through an eBay store. They sell wholesale under the American Heavy label. American Apparel is one of the largest wholesalers in the country. American Apparel shirts are used as band merchandise and concert t-shirts for the bands, among many others. It was reported in 2007, that their retail distribution channel accounted for 55% of sales; wholesale for 39%; and online for 6%. Some of the retail stores are underperforming and may require closing. American