Read More American Apparel raises going concern doubts He said the group could have a better chance of bouncing back from bankruptcy than peers like Wet Seal and Cache, which struggled to adjust to changing spending patterns from teens. The retailer said it will keep its California manufacturing base, which could help it get new products into U.S. shops before the December holiday season and compete with fast-fashion brands such as H&M and Inditex 's Zara. The company, with $600 million in net sales in 2014, has 8,500 employees worldwide, nearly half of them in Los Angeles.