Dive Brief:
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American Apparel employees have been receiving emails critical of hedge fund Standard General and supportive of ousted founder-CEO Dov Charney, which are apparently coming from inside the house.
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The Charney supporters are anonymous, tagging themselves simply as #TeamDov, and have sent internal email blasts from various addresses for two months, Buzzfeed reports.
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CEO Paula Schneider Feb. 19 sent out a memo to all staff, also obtained by Buzzfeed, saying she wouldn’t reply directly to the emails but warning that the anonymous group isn't interested in the company’s success. “I encourage you not to be influenced by unfounded personal attacks or baseless threats about job security sent by outsiders who do not have the company’s best interests at heart,” her memo reads in part.
Dive Insight:
This anonymous campaign is a fight with several fronts, taking on Dov Charney’s ouster, Standard General’s behavior (not just with American Apparel but also RadioShack), and American Apparel’s overall moves away from its edgy and often controversial culture.
It’s true that CEO Paula Schneider has a tricky needle to thread — maintaining American Apparel’s reputation for uniqueness and edginess while tamping down its reputation for sexist, even offensive marketing and behavior. But, this inter-company tumult is most likely not making the job any easier.