5 retail winners

The Los Angeles based apparel chain sells basics with a twist: Its advertisements tout both the company's high quality, hipster-friendly tees and its fair-wage policies. Such meticulous branding has not only distinguished the retailer from Wal-Mart, but has also enabled American Apparel to boost profits 42% this quarter to $6.8 million and same-store sales by 23%. The company absorbed the costs of hiring 1,400 new manufacturing employees with its high-margin online revenues. Mainstream and cool don't usually sync up, but American Apparel, whose avant-garde image is bolstered by provocative marketing campaigns, is staying hip while breaking big.

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