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American Apparel Welcoming New CFO

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — An executive who previously held management posts at Old Navy, Wet Seal and Cost Plus is joining Los Angeles-based American Apparel Inc.

John J. Luttrell will be the new as executive vice president and chief financial officer, effective Monday. He was executive vice president and CFO of Old Navy Inc. and held the same titles at Wet Seal Inc. The Purdue University graduate was CFO of Cost Plus Inc. from 2001 to 2005.

The company announced that current CFO Adrian Kowalewski, who has held the title since 2008, is now executive vice president, Corporate Strategy.

Dov Charney, American Apparel's chief executive officer, said Luttrell "has demonstrable past success with building and improving management infrastructure, including a history of building world-class finance and accounting teams through careful development of existing talent."

"Without question the company has undergone some unprecedented challenges that have impaired its recent financial performance," he said. "My challenge is to leverage the existing business model by engaging in intelligent cost cutting, and providing a platform for the business to accelerate top line sales growth."

American Apparel employs about 10,000 people and operates more than 270 retail stores in 20 countries and also operates a wholesale business that supplies T-shirts and other casual wear to distributors and screen printers.

(©2011 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)

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