US clothing giant for Grafton Street

ONE OF the largest clothing manufacturers in the United States, American Apparel, is to open its first Irish store near the bottom of Dublin's Grafton Street.

The letting, which has yet to be signed off by lawyers, is a coup for owners Irish Life Investment Managers, which is spending €4 million on remodelling and extending the former TSB bank building opposite Trinity College. It has been vacant for more than five years following a decision by the EBS not to move in even though it paid €500,000 for the lease.

American Apparel, which is likely to be paying an annual rent of about €860,000 for the building, says on its website that it tends to stay clear of mid-town, high rent locations, preferring "urban areas that can be revitalised". There has been sustained criticism in recent years at Grafton Street's mediocrity, partly because of the shortage of large scale shops that would appeal to top fashion brands.

The new American Apparel shop is unlikely to have space problems as the redeveloped building will have retail areas of 460sq m (almost 5,000sq ft) and three floors of storage. The floor of the main banking area has been dropped to street level and two escalators have been installed, one to take shoppers to a new mezzanine level and the other to service the first floor.

Michael Harrington of letting agents HWBC would not comment yesterday on the details of the proposed letting. He said the conversion of the former banking hall to retail use would be a major boost for Grafton Street. The fact that the building had attracted interest from multinational fashion retailers before the works were completed was a significant vote of confidence in prime city centre shopping.

American Apparel is best known for making basic cotton knitwear such as T-shirts and underwear but in recent years has expanded to include a wide range of clothing for men, women, children, babies and - wait for it - dogs. The company, founded in 2003, has attracted considerable attention in recent years because of its role in promoting immigrant rights and its claims that it workshops are "sweatshop free".

The Los Angeles-based company has 185 store worldwide and plans to roll out another 50 more.