American Apparel has tapped a former Urban Outfitters exec as its new chief merchant, The Post has learned.
Jordan Schiff — a 31-year-old retail maven who had supervised buying and communications for Urban Outfitters until last month — has been named American Apparel’s new general merchandise manager, executives said.
The key hire, expected to be announced as soon as today, comes as American Apparel CEO Dov Charney is looking to boost the hipster clothier’s profitability. While sales have recently improved, the company is still struggling under a heavy debt load.
“From the standpoint of the consumer, I think we could benefit from maybe a little more seasonality,” Schiff told The Post in an interview yesterday, when asked where he sees room for improvement at American Apparel.
“There’s an issue of timing — we need the right product in the right place at the right price,” he said.
But Schiff, who began work at the Los Angeles company last week, doesn’t think the retailer’s racy ads — which regularly feature scantily clad young women in provocative poses — need changing.
“American Apparel stands for something,” according to Schiff. “There are a lot of elements of good design that don’t change — it’s intellectual, creative and provocative — in a good way.”
The “very coherent” brand strategy of American Apparel — sexy ads and all — contrasts sharply with that of Urban Outfitters, which is “very, very trend-based,” he said.
Schiff left Urban Outfitters on the same day that former CEO Glen Senk surprised retail insiders by announcing he will take the helm of jeweler David Yurman.
American Apparel closed Friday at 71 cents a share, down 38 percent over the past year.