American Apparel shareholders met yesterday in Los Angeles, but the company's majority shareholder and CEO, Dov Charney, was not in attendance. Charney, who owns 54.3 percent of the company's shares, told a WWD reporter in a text message (one of his favorite methods of communicating with the press, as we know firsthand) that he was on a business trip in Japan. Though his absence was unexpected, the CEO didn't have to be at the shareholders meeting, as he had already decided how he would vote on the issues at hand, not diluting his own stake in the brand among them.

American Apparel was saved from bankruptcy this spring by Canadian investors (Lion Capital previously had this honor). Michael Serruya, leader of the Canadian team, has said he plans to inject $45 million more into the company by the fall.

Yet with all that money in the pipeline, 247wallstreet.com predicts American Apparel is among the companies that won't exist in 2012, along with Sears, Nokia, Soap Opera Digest, MySpace, and Kellogg’s Corn Pops, among others. With that lineup, even if the list was for something else entirely, it's a depressing group to be in.

Dov Charney Absent From American Apparel Annual Meeting [WWD]
Ten Brands That Will Disappear In 2012 [24/7 Wall Street]