Thriving American Vintage fêtes 20th anniversary, plans international expansion

Twenty years “is both a long and a short time,” quipped Michaël Azoulay, founder in 2005 of Marseilles-based ready-to-wear brand American Vintage, whose casual, colourful style has become a fixture in the French fashion landscape, and elsewhere too. “We have grown from two to more than 1,000 employees, we have evolved from a single-product company (white T-shirts) to selling complete collections for men, women and children, and our French, monochannel brand has become global and multichannel,” he added, talking about two “fantastic, rewarding” decades. In 2024, American Vintage generated revenue just shy of €200 million, up approximately 20% over 2023, and this year it is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a party in Paris and other events worldwide. An opportunity to chat with Azoulay about his company’s trajectory and expansion plans, notably aimed at export growth.

The self-taught American Vintage boss is pleased to have managed – with the help of his staff – to give continuity to the brand’s collections, and to appeal to a “transgenerational, cosmopolitan” clientèle with the brand’s evergreen, laid-back wardrobe and broad colour palette. But the journey has been by no means easy. “We have had to weather critical junctures and difficult years, such as the shift from wholesale to [direct] retail, the impact of Covid-19, the invasion of Ukraine and rising inflation. I have learned a lot, and I would like to think that our company is a great fashion retail university for the employees who are working there, or who have been with us.”

China expansion

American Vintage is based in Signes, between Marseilles and Toulon. It currently operates 138 monobrand stores, 34 corners, 21 outlet stores, and 19 affiliated stores, and serves nearly 1,500 multibrand retailers. In 2024, the brand opened its first store in China, a joint venture with a local business that has already been followed by several others. This year, new stores are slated to open in nine cities, including Beijing, Wuhan and Chengdu, making it approximately 15 addresses in a year. “The business is becoming significant, but we don’t want to see American Vintage stores crop up all over China like mushrooms. Our aim is to manage our expansion,” said Azoulay. Another two stores have opened in Macau in recent months.

In the USA, where a first address was inaugurated in New York in 2021, American Vintage is expanding its footprint with three openings scheduled for 2025 in Palo Alto, Los Angeles (on Abbot Kinney) and Boston. All of them directly operated by the brand. A store in Stanford is also on the cards. Azoulay isn’t concerned about the impact of the US administration’s policies on his business in the country, describing it as still quite small-scale. In Europe, the pace has slowed down somewhat, but openings are planned in the UK, the Netherlands, Spain and France (one soon in Annecy, for example).

Store fleet expansion was not initially a declared objective. “Retail wasn’t a calling, but I’ve always dreamed of being busy and of travelling. We all have an inborn survival instinct, and I am fuelled by the desire to rise and grow,” said Azoulay, 46, who has been followed around for several months by a film-maker shooting a documentary that will be broadcast on American Vintage’s e-shop and social media channels. Filming has also taken place in some of the countries where the products are manufactured, for example Tunisia, Portugal, and Bulgaria.

In April, American Vintage dropped a 20th anniversary collection, featuring unisex looks big on logos, patches and oversize silhouettes. A second instalment will be unveiled at the start of the fall/winter season. “We have worked a lot on branding. American Vintage used to be a no-logo brand, but in recent seasons the name has been prominently displayed on our clothes. This extra visibility has helped boost sales. The concept has been pushed to the max in the anniversary collection, which features 20 or so different labels and tags affirming who we are. We’re 20 years old, we can afford it,” said Azoulay.

The company is described as profitable, and is still led by a trio of family shareholders consisting of Azoulay, his brother and his sister. “China and the USA are expensive markets, you can’t enter them if the business isn’t healthy,” he said.

The next projects? In September, the brand will launch a first line of performance sportswear, tapping a growth segment while still “going for a directional approach.” American Vintage is also planning to build “a new automated and mechanised logistics warehouse within two to three years,” according to Azoulay, who expects revenue to increase again in 2025.