Dov Charney, founder and CEO of American Apparel -- a clothing store that will be opening a branch in the storefront at 37th and Walnut formerly occupied by Smith Bros. -- cares about his employees' needs. In Charney's factory in Los Angeles -- the largest apparel factory in the country, with over 3,000 workers -- employees earn an average of twice the minimum wage, receive free treatment from certified massage therapists and have subsidized lunches and ESL courses, since the majority of them speak primarily Spanish. And according to Heather Pithie, a former recruiter with American Apparel, Charney once gave her a vibrator because "it's great during sex."
Pithie, along with two other former employees, has filed a sexual harassment suit against Charney and American Apparel for creating an environment in which -- they claim -- women feel unsafe.
Charney, who has reportedly had several consensual relationships with employees and has posed nude as a "salute" to adult sexual freedom, contends that the women are using his openness about his sexuality against him.
In a prepared statement to the media, Charney said, "In my opinion their lawsuits are a false attempt to extort money from my company and exploit my transparent persona."
American Apparel controls its product from start to finish, meaning that all jobs are performed by company employees, including modeling for ads. The suggestive photos of young men and women in American Apparel clothing that decorate each store frequently feature employees.
With the August 17 opening of an American Apparel in Sansom Commons approaching, there is some question as to how students and administrators will respond to the store's racy reputation.
College senior Laura Cappelli did not believe American Apparel's sexual image would dictate whether Penn students would shop there.
"People around here are fairly educated consumers and will know what is trying to be done with advertising," Cappelli said. "They will buy clothes based on quality and style rather than how they are presented."
However, when informed of the harassment charges, Cappelli's opinion changed.
"People will view the store in a more negative light because now it puts the store decorations in a different context," Cappelli said.
College senior and senior class President Pierre Gooding disagrees and believes American Apparel will be a welcome addition to campus.
"There are going to be people who are against that sort of sexual openness," Gooding said, "but I think the large part of the Penn population will embrace it."
"It sounds like something this campus needs because a lot of the time you see the same sort of stores all over," Gooding added.
Facilities and Real Estate Services spokesman Tony Sorrentino believes that any Penn student who decides to work for American Apparel will do so judiciously.
"I have faith in the Penn student, that they are a mature and intelligent person who would do research into any company that they would consider working for," Sorrentino said.
Of the decision to bring American Apparel to campus, Sorrentino said, "We were interested in catering to the professionals that live in University City, the young, urban, hip professional. And we were also very sensitive to price. We wanted things to be affordable."
