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Los Angeles Apparel to open first San Francisco store in Union Square

Los Angeles Apparel to open first San Francisco store in Union Square

Money Moves San Francisco, CA local

Dov Charney's basics brand will take over the former Uniqlo space at 111 Powell St.

October 9th, 2026: Uniqlo opens flagship at 801 Market St.

Overview

Updated Oct 27

Dov Charney is bringing his basics brand back to San Francisco. Los Angeles Apparel, the company he started after American Apparel's board ousted him in 2014, plans to open its first Bay Area store at 111 Powell St. in Union Square. No opening date has been reported.

The store would be the brand's fourth location, after two in Los Angeles and one in New York. Union Square's recovery continues: Uniqlo opened a 20,000-square-foot flagship at 801 Market St. on October 9, and McMullen opened a Maiden Lane flagship later that month. Julie Taylor of Colliers has called the Powell Street construction a $40 million project set to start in November.

Why it matters

The store tests Union Square's post-pandemic recovery and whether Charney can rebuild his American Apparel retail model under a new name.

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Key Indicators

3
Current Los Angeles Apparel retail stores
Two in Los Angeles and one in New York's SoHo district; San Francisco would be the fourth.
300
Peak American Apparel stores
American Apparel's retail footprint before its decline and 2017 sale to Gildan.
$600M
Peak American Apparel annual revenue
Approximate revenue at American Apparel's height before two bankruptcies.
Still above pre-pandemic
Union Square retail vacancy
ABC7 reported in October 2026 that vacancies remain far above pre-pandemic levels. The exact rate was not confirmed.

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People Involved

Dov Charney
Dov Charney
Founder and CEO, Los Angeles Apparel
Expanding retail footprint; Union Square store planned
JT
Julie Taylor
Executive Vice President, Colliers
Brokered the Union Square lease
MR
Marisa Rodriguez
CEO, Union Square Alliance
Oversees Union Square's business improvement district

Organizations Involved

Los Angeles Apparel
Los Angeles Apparel
Apparel manufacturer and retailer
Opening fourth store, in San Francisco

Vertically integrated basics maker founded by Dov Charney after his ouster from American Apparel.
Union Square Alliance
Union Square Alliance
Business improvement district
Promoting retail recovery in downtown San Francisco

Business improvement district overseeing Union Square's promotion, cleanliness, and streetscape projects.

Timeline

January 1989 October 2026

11 events Latest: October 9th, 2026 · 1 month ago Showing 8 of 11
Tap a bar to jump to that date

  1. Uniqlo opens flagship at 801 Market St.

    Latest Retail

    Uniqlo opened a 20,000-square-foot flagship at Fourth and Market with a free street festival, returning to downtown after closing its Powell Street store in 2021. The store employs more than 80 people.

  2. Uniqlo Muni-themed collection goes on sale

    Retail

    Uniqlo sold Muni-branded shirts and totes priced at $20 to $30 at its Market Street store. The transit agency receives no revenue share; it faces a $307 million deficit.

  3. Union Square store announced

    Expansion

    Los Angeles Apparel confirms plans for its first San Francisco store, at the former Uniqlo space at 111 Powell St.

  4. McMullen opens Maiden Lane flagship in Union Square

    Retail

    The Oakland-born luxury boutique opened a 6,342-square-foot, two-floor flagship at 135 Maiden Lane. It is another fashion store opening in Union Square this fall.

  5. COVID outbreak closes LA Apparel factory

    Public health

    Health officials shut the factory after 300 workers contract COVID-19 and 4 die; Charney had reopened to make masks.

  6. Gildan buys American Apparel, closes stores

    Acquisition

    Gildan Activewear acquires American Apparel out of bankruptcy and shuts all brick-and-mortar locations.

  7. Los Angeles Apparel founded

    Company founding

    Charney launches Los Angeles Apparel as a wholesale basics business, buying American Apparel's old factory equipment.

  8. American Apparel files second bankruptcy

    Financial

    A second Chapter 11 filing follows; the company later sells to Gildan Activewear in 2017.

  9. American Apparel files first bankruptcy

    Financial

    American Apparel enters Chapter 11 for the first time, burdened by debt and falling sales.

  10. Charney ousted from American Apparel

    Governance

    American Apparel's board fires Charney amid allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct.

  11. American Apparel founded

    Company founding

    Dov Charney starts American Apparel in Los Angeles, building a vertically integrated basics brand.

Scenarios

1

Union Square store opens, anchors Powell revival

Likely Resolves by End of 2027

Discussed by: San Francisco Standard reporting; Julie Taylor at Colliers

The store opens on schedule at 111 Powell St., drawing from the cable car turnaround and Uniqlo's new Market Street location. Even through the year-long Powell renovation, foot traffic holds and the brand proves a durable signal of Union Square's recovery.

2

Powell construction dents foot traffic, store struggles

Possible Resolves by Q2 2028

Discussed by: Julie Taylor at Colliers acknowledged construction risk in SF Standard

The November groundbreaking tears up Powell Street sidewalks for about a year, cutting access to the store. Foot traffic drops below forecast, echoing the district's earlier struggles, and the store underperforms or quietly closes.

3

LA Apparel expands beyond San Francisco and New York

Possible Resolves by End of 2028

Discussed by: Vernon Proper retail analysis on brand growth trajectory

If the Union Square store succeeds alongside SoHo, Charney pushes the brand to more cities, recreating American Apparel's expansion at a slower, more deliberate pace. Each new store tests whether a wholesale-first manufacturer can scale direct-to-consumer retail.

Historical Context

2 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

1989 - 2017

American Apparel's boom and bust (1989-2017)

Dov Charney built American Apparel from a T-shirt wholesaler into a vertically integrated basics powerhouse with roughly 300 stores and $600 million in annual sales, manufacturing everything in Los Angeles. The company unraveled under debt and scandal: Charney was ousted in 2014, and Gildan bought it out of its second bankruptcy in 2017, closing all stores.

Then

Gildan absorbed American Apparel as a wholesale label, ending its brick-and-mortar retail presence entirely.

Now

The collapse became a case study in founder-driven risk and overexpansion, leaving a void in the market for made-in-America basics that Los Angeles Apparel now fills.

Why this matters now

The same founder, product catalog, and manufacturing model are being retested at a smaller scale in San Francisco. The key question is whether Charney's new company can grow without repeating the debt-fueled overreach that sank the original.

2020 - 2026

Union Square's pandemic-era retail exodus and recovery (2020-2026)

Major tenants fled San Francisco's Union Square after the pandemic emptied downtowns, leaving vacant flagships and declining foot traffic. By 2026, the district began drawing retailers back: Uniqlo relocated to a new Market Street store, sportswear retailer Lids filed permits across from the planned Los Angeles Apparel location, and the city launched the Powell Street Improvement Project.

Then

Retail vacancy in Union Square has begun to fill as brands test whether downtown foot traffic has returned for good.

Now

Union Square's recovery is being watched as a bellwether for whether US city-center retail can rebound from the work-from-home shift.

Why this matters now

This store opening is one signal in a broader comeback story. If Los Angeles Apparel commits to a lease with a year of sidewalk construction ahead, it suggests retailers believe the recovery is durable.

Sources

(12)
+6
San Francisco Standard Wikipedia Vernon Proper The Real Deal FashionUnited SF.gov ABC7 San Francisco Mission Local The Bay Area Brief ABC7 San Francisco San Francisco Standard San Francisco Standard