15309: BHM 2021—Abercrombie & Fitch.

 

Abercrombie & Fitch declares:

 

We’re proud to introduce a capsule designed by A&F BIPOC associates that speaks to racial justice in their own words—a collection that calls for CHANGE, EQUALITY & UNITY not just for today, but every day.

 

Okey-doke.

14914: Diversity & Inclusion From Abercrombie & Fitch Is Bullshit AF.

The only thing more outrageously hypocritical & messed up than Abercrombie & Fitch being spotlighted for diversity & inclusion is seeing Adweek has a Diversity & Inclusion section.

11911: This Dov’s No Real Beauty.

George Zimmer. Chip Wilson. Mike Jeffries. And now, Dov Charney. These guys are the Four Horsemen of the Apparelocalypse.

American Apparel boots CEO for being a pervert, stock surges

By James Covert

Dov Charney’s luck has finally run out — and American Apparel is likely headed for the sales block.

The controversial founder and CEO of American Apparel was ousted Wednesday by the retailer’s board, paving the way for a potential sale of the company, insiders said.

The board of directors cited “an ongoing investigation into alleged misconduct” that it initiated earlier this year, announcing that it had voted unanimously after its annual meeting Wednesday to fire Charney for cause.

While the board didn’t elaborate, sources said Charney’s personal conduct with women, which had been the subject of a string of sex-harassment suits by former female employees, was among the longstanding issues. The issues didn’t appear to be criminal or related to troubles with the company’s operations, sources said.

Shares of the struggling clothier surged as much as 22 percent to trade as high as 78 cents in early trades Thursday. Recently, the stock was up 7 percent at 69 cents.

Prior to the announcement on Wednesday afternoon, 45-year-old Charney didn’t respond to repeated messages from The Post, as unconfirmed speculation spread among insiders that a brewing conflict between him and the board might end with his ouster.

Another possible bone of contention, according to one source, was that Charney recently had been seeking ways to reverse the dilution of his ownership stake in the company, which had resulted from a March stock offering of $30.5 million to cover near-term debt payments.

“He was asking for advice on what to do about the situation,” according to one source, noting that the recent equity raise had diluted Charney’s stake in the company to about 27 percent — well below the minimum of 35 percent generally seen as necessary to retain control of a board.

Indeed, Charney’s dilution from the equity deal appears to have left him vulnerable in his final defeat after a string of close calls during previous liquidity crises for the company.

Charney, who founded American Apparel in 1998 as a T-shirt supplier, in some ways had been a retail visionary.

Courting controversy with smutty ads that featured young, scantily clad women in compromising positions, Charney produced his fashions at a factory in Los Angeles, championing “Made in the USA” clothing.

While Charney campaigned to legalize Mexican workers at his LA plant, the rest of the US clothing industry had moved its manufacturing to sourcing overseas.

But he was continually dogged by operational disasters, even as consternation about his personal behavior grew.

In 2009, American Apparel was forced to fire 1,500 undocumented immigrant workers at its Los Angeles factory following a federal raid, spurring manufacturing shortfalls that led to a major cash crunch. In 2013, the company’s loss widened to $106 million from $37 million a year earlier, partly because of software glitches at a new manufacturing facility.

“We take no joy in this, but the board felt it was the right thing to do,” said American Apparel director Allen Mayer, newly appointed as co-chairman. “Dov Charney created American Apparel, but the company has grown much larger than any one individual and we are confident that its greatest days are ahead.”

Firing Charney for cause will require a 30-day period to resolve under his contract, and could trigger defaults on debt obligations that could, in turn, force a sale of the company, insiders said.

Financial chief John Luttrell will serve as interim CEO while the company hires a search firm to replace Charney.

American Apparel only narrowly escaped getting taken over by lenders this spring, as a group of debt holders including Goldman Sachs demanded a $13.6 million interest payment on more than $200 million in obligations.

The racy clothing brand is now expected to attract a bevy of suitors, including private-equity firms as well as competing retailers.

“The only thing that’s been standing in the way of a sale has been Dov Charney,” according to one banker close to the situation. “People love the brand, and they hate him.”

10495: Hating Hollister Hijinks.

Catch the culturally clueless cretins at koreaBANG now.

8657: Customer Complaints.

The customer is always riled in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• A Taco Bell customer in Texas opened fire upon discovering the price of his favorite Beefy Crunch Burrito increased by 50 cents. The event turned into a 4-hour shootout with a SWAT team. Good thing the guy didn’t hear about the controversy surrounding Taco Bell’s beef.

• Abercrombie & Fitch is catching heat over offering padded bikini tops for prepubescent girls, with parents blasting the clothing chain for sexualizing kids. Um, have these parents ever seen any of A&B’s advertising? Much of it rivals the work of Dov Charney.

7109: Abercrombie & Fitch & Discrimination.

From The Associated Press…

Teen alleges discrimination by Abercrombie & Fitch

By Sean Murphy (AP)

OKLAHOMA CITY — A Muslim teenager claims in a federal lawsuit that she was denied a job at an Abercrombie & Fitch clothing store at a Tulsa mall because she wore a head scarf.

In the lawsuit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Tulsa by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 17-year-old Samantha Elauf said she applied for a sales position at the Abercrombie Kids store in the Woodland Hills Mall in June 2008. The teen, who wears a hijab in accordance with her religious beliefs, claims the manager told her the head scarf violates the store’s “Look Policy.”

“These actions constitute discrimination against Ms. Elauf on the basis of religion,” the lawsuit states.

A spokeswoman for the New Albany, Ohio-based retailer declined to comment on the lawsuit but said the company has “a strong equal employment opportunity policy, and we accommodate religious beliefs and practices when possible.”

An attorney for the EEOC claims the company violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which protects workers from discrimination based upon religion in hiring. The EEOC said the lawsuit was filed after the agency attempted to reach a voluntary settlement.

“It is unlawful for employers to treat applicants or workers differently based on their religious beliefs or practices in any aspect of employment, including recruitment, hiring and job assignments,” EEOC senior trial attorney Michelle Robertson said.

The suit seeks back pay for the teen and a permanent injunction against the retailer from participating in what it describes as discriminatory employment practices. It seeks undisclosed monetary and non-monetary losses resulting from “emotional pain, suffering, anxiety, loss of enjoyment of life, humiliation and inconvenience.”

The suit also seeks punitive damages against the company for its “malice or reckless indifference to her federally protected rights.”

In 2004, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. agreed to pay $50 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the EEOC that accused the company of promoting whites over minorities and cultivating a practically all-white image in its catalogs and elsewhere.