Unhappy hipsters: is Dov Charney out at American Apparel?

Unhappy hipsters: is Dov Charney out at American Apparel?

The unhappiest hipster (Image: Dov Charney)

With Tuesday’s news that pleated pants purveyor American Apparel may have to declare bankruptcy, shares plummeted into penny-stock range, raising questions about flamboyant CEO Dov Charney’s tenure at the company. The Financial Post writes that if a new investor comes in to save AA, the company would “almost certainly” push Charney out. If Charney is forced out, the Post theorizes “investors and observers would lose perhaps the most colourful Canadian chief executive of a public company.”

Colourful is certainly one way to describe Charney; we might say something different about the man who, as head of the brand, has been known for allegedly sexually harassing employees, creating ads that draw comparisons to pornography, masturbating in front of a reporter, and most recently, a “full body head to toe” hiring policy. Either way, the share of the hipster pie just got a whole lot bigger for Urban Outfitters.

• American Apparel a hipster darling no more as bankruptcy looms [National Post]