American Apparel (APP)

Second positive earnings surprise in a row. CEO says things are finally turning around. Its forward P/E is much easier to swallow, upside-wise (6.59) than either Limited (14.75 forward P/E)or J.Crew (22.03 forward P/E), which are also performing well right now.

Huge cult following. Always opening new stores. Profit growing. Dov Charney needs to cool it with the risky behavior but otherwise I think it's a great company.

zr

Positioned for turnaround and good teen market,

T-shirt provider for numerous internet businesses and runs a few brick and mortar stores here and there. Will probably see a modest increase during summer.

APP

Mmm...clothing...

I've been trading APP for a bit and have been very bullish since the start of the year, and I finally cashed out when we were around $6.

Their CEO is great at clothier. He is unique, has great style, and original ideas. But, he does not run a public company well. CEOs cannot behave as he does w/o messing with stockholders. He has had at least 4 legitimate sexual assault lawsuits made on him, and almost bked the company with overexpansion.

That being said, I see this as a good one month play. APP got financing which valued the company at about $400 mln. While marketcap is not a particularly good way to value a company, I think it'll work here. I recommend selling when it hits $5.50-$6 and reassessing then.

Foolish leadership. Headed south for six months to a year. I won't be shy in buying some APP once they sober up-- if the stock price is in the 2's or 3's then, all the better.

Take it from a college student in a trendy east coast city, American Apparel is on the way out. All their clothes revolve around a bull market aesthetic; they sell people on looking decadent, urban, and rich. Nobody's gonna go to clubs anymore, nobody's gonna check photo blogs anymore, and American Apparel - in spite of its genius ability to keep its finger on the pulse of the trust fund fashionistas - will not be able to survive when expensive clothes just aren't cool anymore. It's a new era and the old hipsters are dying out.

I bought this at 5 dollars even. When I tell my friends that this stock is newer than GAP or Abercrombie, they look at me like I'm an idiot. This is in no way a trend or a fad. CEO scares me, but he's got a 53% stake in the company... Look for this company to beat their Q1 estimates. Good short-term and long term buy.

I have been in close watch of this aggressive stock for some time and it looks like a winner, so I bought me some :) Just wish my broker account would have let me have access to my funds sooner, would have doubled my money already lol. Oh, well only time will tell. God Bless.

This stock may have a flakey CEO, but he's also the guy that started that started the company and is passionate about his brand. He's creating a lifestyle. All the clothes are made in Downtown Los Angeles by well paid employees who love the company. In the future, people will start looking to 'buy American' again and this will be a huge strength for them. With their new $80M financing, they are not likely to go under during these uncertain financial times. I think they are well positioned to see the kind of growth that the Gap saw through the 80's and 90's and American Eagle has seen in the last decade.

with the decline of The Gap and all the other stores that had their turn, APP will rise and have its place in the sun for a while.

This could be the next Hanes or Fruit of the Loom, but with a continual youth appeal. The garments are well made and will engender customer loyalty over the life of the consumer.

$104M of current debt, growing inventories and the negative economy should adversely impact this company

APP has an excellent brand name, but in the current market environment it is still way overpriced

whats up!

Risky, oh, so risky. I'm not saying it's not. I wrote about its riskiness here: http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2008/08/15/sneak-a-peek-at-3-racy-retailers.aspx

However, despite the currently scary times for retail and risky elements connected to the founder's behavior at times (then again, the founder's also a visionary, I think), I'm going thumbs up on this one.