American Apparel closes East Lansing store

Alexander Alusheff | Lansing State Journal

EAST LANSING – American Apparel has closed its East Lansing location.

The clothing store’s signage has been removed, and brown paper now covers the windows of the business, located at 115 E. Grand River Ave. across the street from Michigan State University. The store closed on Dec. 18, according to the East Lansing Assessor’s Office.

Building owner, Brian Gordon, of East Lansing Grand River LLC, has listed the property for lease on Loopnet. The storefront has 4,400 square feet and can be rented for $110,000 per year.

Gordon said American Apparel's lease was up and the company did not renew it.

"We're very close to a deal on the space now," he said. "The space won't stay empty for long."

American Apparel opened the East Lansing store in 2007, according to the assessor’s office. It was the company’s 84th location.

The Los Angeles-based clothing chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October. The company has since been restructuring its business, closing unprofitable stores. In October, the chain had six factories and 230 stores in the U.S. and 17 other countries.

"This store closure is a next step in implementing our previously announced turnaround plan, which includes closing under-performing locations and investing in new stores in promising areas," said Arielle Patrick, an American Apparel spokesperson, in an email.

The nearest American Apparel is now in Ann Arbor at 619 E. Liberty St. There is another location in Royal Oak. Both will remain open, according to store representatives.

Contact Alexander Alusheff at (517) 388-5973 or aalusheff@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @alexalusheff.