Embattled retailer avoids fight over board

New York

AMERICAN Apparel said that it had averted a proxy fight with an ally of its estranged founder and former chief executive, Dov Charney, as the retailer unveiled a turnaround plan meant to get it back on a growth track towards US$1 billion in annual sales.

Jeffrey Kolb, a shareholder who formerly worked for Mr Charney and who had planned to nominate two candidates to the company's board, agreed to withdraw those nominations, American Apparel said on Monday in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

One of those candidates, Lucky Brand co-founder Gene Montesano, will instead be asked to lead a committee that will advise American Apparel's chief executive, Paula Schneider, who took the helm in January. American…