American Apparel net sales rise by 6% in April

American Apparel announced preliminary sales for the

month ended April 30, 2012. The company reported that for the month ended April 30, 2012, total net sales increased 6% to $47.9 million compared to April 30, 2011. Between the same periods, comparable store sales on a preliminary basis increased an estimated 10% and wholesale net sales increased an estimated 4%.

The company has significantly improved store sales productivity which is currently running in the month of April at an annual run rate of $1,460,000 in average sales per store. It also has plans in place to achieve productivity beyond $1,610,000.

"We are pleased to report another month of sales growth across all three selling channels. April represents our eleventh consecutive month of comparable sales increases," said Dov Charney, chairman and CEO. "Despite a forward shift of the Easter Holiday, we continued to see growth in our core businesses, particularly our core knits business in the retail channel.”

American Apparel is a vertically integrated manufacturer, distributor, and retailer of branded fashion and basic apparel based in downtown Los Angeles, California. As of April 30, 2012, American Apparel operates 250 retail stores in 20 countries, including the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil and United Kingdom.