American Apparel founder to remain on board

Shareholders elected to keep American Apparel Inc. founder Dov Charney on its board of directors, according to voting results announced at the troubled Los Angeles clothing maker’s annual meeting Friday.

In recent months American Apparel has been beset by a host of problems including sales declines, losses, problems with its debt and delayed quarterly filings.

Two other board members, Mark Samson and Mark A. Thornton, were also reelected. Each will serve a three-year term.

Shareholders also approved the ratification of Marcum as the company’s independent auditor. American Apparel was left in a bind this summer when its former auditing firm, Deloitte & Touche, abruptly resigned. The change in accounting firms led to an investigation by the U.S. attorney’s office in New York.

The annual meeting, held in a showroom at the clothing maker’s downtown headquarters Friday afternoon, lasted about 30 minutes.

Chief Executive Charney addressed the audience of about 20 people but did not discuss the company’s troubles, spokesman Ryan Holiday said. Media were not permitted to attend.

After the meeting, Peter Schey, a lawyer for American Apparel, said the company continued to work on improving production efficiencies and driving sales while stabilizing cash flow.

Shares of American Apparel rose 15 cents, or 9.4%, to $1.75 on Friday. The shareholders meeting was held after the markets closed.

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