March 24, 2017 – Gildan Activewear Inc. (TSX:GIL)(NYSE:GIL) has updated its plans for the recently-acquired American Apparel brand and has begun shipping products through its U.S. printwear channels.

Prior to the acquisition, Gildan agreed to purchase as much inventory of American Apparel’s key styles as possible in an effort to get its pipeline in order to service orders in timely manner.

Gildan also announced that in order to retain the core DNA of this brand, it is opening an office in Los Angeles that will include some of American Apparel’s former marketing and merchandising staff.

“We’re excited about the brand,” said Garry Bell, Gildan’s Vice President of Corporate Marketing and Communication. “It’s a good, premium brand that has a distinct look and feel to it from a style and marketing point of view and we want to maintain that uniqueness.”

In order to ensure the continuity of American Apparel’s Made in the USA style, Gildan has engaged contractors in the western U.S. to make fabric and sew final garments. “There is a selection of key styles that represented a significant percentage of American Apparel’s sales that will continue to be offered in a Made in the USA version,” added Bell. At the same time, Gildan announced another collection will be produced through its existing manufacturing infrastructure, giving printwear customers the best of both worlds with access to a more price-centric American Apparel collection as well.

Bell noted that Gildan’s focus for the remainder of 2017 is to service printers and decorators in the North American marketplace as quickly and efficiently as possible. Decorators both north and south of the border are once again able to purchase American Apparel products through the same network of wholesale distributors as before.

Gildan continues to evaluate various opportunities for go-forward plans to bring the brand to consumers.