Imagine American Apparel Inc., with its classic, locally made styles, but without the controversial Dov Charney and racy advertisements, and you’re left with something akin to Compton clothing company American Made Supply Co.
The apparel manufacturer launched six months ago and is already on track to hit $1 million in sales this year – quickly establishing itself as a go-to maker of classic T-shirts and bottoms that straddle the divide between mass-market and designer price points.
But Jay Winklepleck, chief executive of American Made, said the company is taking a drastically different approach than Charney’s former company. American Made is trying to manage growth more carefully and has made a commitment to selling its apparel online only. Its financial situation is different, too.
“American Apparel did a really good job of setting the standard in the beginning,” Winklepleck said. “But what makes us unique is we’re not taking rounds of investment money. I think there’s a lot of pressure for growth when you take in a lot of money.”
He said the company’s growth has been promising, and he wants to streamline operations further by building out its own cut-and-sew facility – it now outsources to a company in Vernon – making American Made vertically integrated.
“It’s about quality control,” he said. “We’re really strict on that and it allows us to be more streamlined.”
It also shortens the time for products to hit the market. American Made is able to replenish stock in less than two weeks as opposed to the standard six weeks by most retailers. Winklepleck noted that the company makes an effort not to hold too much inventory and release too many new styles – problems faced by American Apparel.
American Apparel filed for bankruptcy in October and emerged with new co-owners earlier this year. The company said in April that it would lay off hundreds of workers and retool its production strategy, a process that could include outsourcing some manufacturing.
In the fold
Winklepleck and Jordan Hunnell, American Made’s chief operating officer, launched the firm in December. Winklepleck previously operated his own silkscreen printing factory in downtown, working with apparel brands such as RVCA, Junkfood, and James Perse. He counted American Apparel as a customer as well. Hunnell served as a merchandiser for labels such as Pacific Sunwear, Fox Head Inc., and Jimlar Corp.
The two partnered with Jeff Beau, president of print manufacturing company OceanAire Sportswear Inc., in order to get American Made off the ground. Beau also invested in the clothing firm. The company operates with a staff of 17 inside OceanAire’s 85,000-square-foot facility in Compton.
The partnership helps American Made scale its business as it can take advantage of OceanAire’s manufacturing resources, order fulfillment, and shipping infrastructure, said Winklepleck, who added the arrangement has given the new brand an opportunity to grow at its own pace.
“It gave us the ability to really take the idea of going online from conception to reality,” he said. “(OceanAire) has so much space and infrastructure and personnel to put toward running our fulfillment and logistics.”
Beau said having American Made work out of its own headquarters has benefited the company’s printing business.
“It’s only been a positive,” he said. “OceanAire has always offered custom apparel domestically manufactured, but we lack in outreach. The exposure through American Made has gained OceanAire new clients.”
Staying online
American Made is looking to set a new standard for manufacturing high-quality apparel made and sourced locally. Its basic T-shirts cost $24, a price point with few big competitors other than American Apparel that analysts said could be ripe for growth.
Dan Wallace-Brewster, vice president of corporate marketing for Rancho Dominguez e-commerce services company Onestop Internet, said hitting the midlevel price range between a fast-fashion label and luxury brand can be quite appealing to customers.
“I think there’s opportunity at that price point where somebody can get a product that they’re confident is well made but not have to really blow out the bank,” Wallace-Brewster said.
But he cautioned that competition from online retail giants such as Amazon.com Inc. could make it more difficult to stand out without any brick-and-mortar shops to garner foot traffic.
“Any brand that wants to launch within the basics category needs to define themselves in a way that redefines their category,” he said. “As Amazon invests in apparel, basics will be an area where they can easily gobble up market share from small or emerging players.”
In order to combat that possibility, American Made is ramping up its marketing efforts to help increase brand awareness. That includes striking partnerships with social media influencers on Instagram and even leveraging bigger brands. For example, the firm is working with surfwear brand Katin USA to create a limited selection of men’s swim trunks next month to be sold on American Made’s website.
Hunnell said he recognizes the risk in launching a brand online.
“Online is a hard marketplace,” Hunnell said. “It’s very hard to capture or keep that customer. We wanted to offer something new and fresh and by selling online we could offer a better price point.”
Shoppers can choose from classic-style T-shirts, tank tops, and Terry crewnecks in basic colors as well as Terry shorts and jogger pants for men and women. The most expensive item is a $60 full-zip Terry jacket.
With no retail overhead, American Made is able to keep costs down, a model followed by many other emerging online retailers.
Winklepleck said the brand’s simple styles are countered by the quality of its fabric, which is sourced from a mill in downtown and features custom details such as a small American flag label sewn into the outside seam.
“We kind of model our business after In-N-Out,” he said. “It has such a simple menu, yet everyone loves it. We wanted to make it very classic and tasteful so that a younger demographic thinks it’s cool but the older demographic still finds it interesting.”
Sidney Morgan-Petro, retail editor with New York trend forecasting agency WGSN, said the company’s back-to-basics look plays into the “normcore” trend – a style characterized by nonbranded sweatpants and white sneakers – that has overtaken the U.S. juniors market.
“It all has a touch of ’90s-era Abercrombie, blended with current-day American Apparel – a well-made American brand with a vertical manufacturing strategy and a sexy, but not too sexy, marketing angle that hints at keeping things horizontal,” Morgan-Petro said.
