American Apparel LLC will close nine of its stores, including locations in New York and Washington, D.C., by Dec. 31 and won approval of an agreement with liquidators that would govern the closure of any stores that aren’t sold during an auction in January, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. The approval on Monday by Bankruptcy Judge Brendan Shannon means that American Apparel can begin using the notorious yellow “going out of business” signage at these nine stores, which include locations in Georgetown and Tribeca, during the next two weeks. Although the company hasn’t yet begun the aggressive liquidation promotions at these stores, it has been running sales since earlier in December, it said in court documents. Liquidation sales at these stores are likely to generate $600,000 in income for American Apparel, and their closures will save $200,000 a month in rent, it said.
