If you’re a fan of those stores that come out of nowhere to sell a lot of Halloween costumes and Christmas ornaments only to be gone without a trace once a holiday passes, we’ve got great news for you! A decade-high level of retail bankruptcies and store closures means there’s still plenty of spaces at your local shopping centers for all manner of seasonal pop-up stores. [More]
gap
Gap Closing 200 Banana Republic, Gap Stores; Opening 270 Old Navy, Athleta Locations
By 9.6.17
It’s out with the old — or underperforming — and in with the new at Gap. In a bid to turn around sales and get people into stores, the mall staple says it will close about 200 Banana Republic and Gap locations, while opening 270 Old Navy and Athleta stores over the next three years. [More]
Old Navy Is Still The Only Part Of Gap Inc. That’s Doing Well
By 8.18.17
As retailers continue to struggle to keep sales up and stores open, Gap Inc. has been able to stay profitable. It’s all thanks to one brand, Old Navy. [More]
Gap To Close Banana Republic Stores In The UK
By 10.18.16
Mall stalwart Gap’s rough year — including a distribution center fire, store closures, and a “too normal” clothing line — is getting a bit rockier, as the company announced it will soon close most of its Banana Republic-branded stores across the pond. [More]
Analyst Calls Fire At Gap Distribution Center “A Fortuitous Reduction In Inventory”
By 10.7.16
Ah, Gap: a company where a fire that destroys merchandise that the company would have a tough time selling due to its “unappealing” nature is seen as a good thing. [More]
Gap Shoppers Buying Online May Wait Longer For Orders After Warehouse Fire In NY
By 9.2.16
A rough year for Gap Inc and some of its brands — Gap, Old Navy, and Banana Republic — just got rougher: A fire that tore through a major distribution warehouse for the retailer earlier this week means that customers in a busy region are going to have to wait longer than usual to get their hands on the stuff they paid for. [More]
Gap Can’t Seem To Stop Being Normal, And That’s Its Big Problem
By 8.19.16
A few years ago, Gap realized that telling its customers to “Dress Normal” wasn’t such a great idea: customers were turned off, and sales plummeted. That air of normalcy is still plaguing the company. [More]
17 Commercial Failures From Brands With Spectacularly Bad Ideas
By 6.30.16
While Keurig is surely hoping there will come a day when its failed KOLD soda-making machine is but a misty, sparkling memory, it’s not the first company to reach for the stars, to fly too close to the sun, to try to capture lightning in a bottle… and fail utterly and completely, thereby forever securing a spot in the brand failure hall of fame, never to be forgotten. [More]
Report: Amazon’s Strides In Apparel Could Be Serious Threat To Brick-And-Mortar Stores
By 6.10.16
As if retail chains aren’t already having a rough time of it lately, a new report says Amazon’s clothing business could prove to make things even worse in the future. [More]
Gap CEO Says He’s Open To Possibly Using Amazon To Reach More Customers
By 5.18.16
Although Amazon may be the big bad wolf at the door coming to blow the house down and eat up their business, some retailers are considering teaming up with the tech giant instead of fearing it. Like Gap, whose CEO said the company would consider working with Amazon if it means reaching shoppers. [More]
Banana Republic Has A New Euphemism For ‘People Don’t Like Our Stuff’
By 11.11.15
We’re always looking for the freshest new ideas in corporatespeak, which is why we’re very fond of a term that a Gap Inc. spokesperson used recently regarding falling sales at their Banana Republic brand. They called it “product acceptance challenges.” Turns out that’s not a new term: we found it used by now-bankrupt clothing retailer Coldwater Creek in 2011, for example. Not a good precedent. [Racked] [More]
Urban Outfitters Will End On-Call Scheduling In New York
By 10.7.15
Following in the footsteps of retailers like Victoria’s Secret, Bath & Body Works, Abercrombie & Fitch and Gap, Urban Outfitters says it will stop using on-call scheduling — but only in New York. This change comes after pressure from New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s office, which has been probing various companies’ use of the system. [More]
Gap Promises It’ll Sell Clothes You Actually Want To Wear By Next Spring
By 8.21.15
Change is in the air at Gap Inc., which has been struggling to attract customers lately in the crowded retail arena of mid-priced clothing. After announcing in June it’d be closing 21% of its U.S. stores by January, for a total of 175 locations, the company is promising that it’s starting to turn things around, though changes won’t be immediate: by next spring, the company says it’ll have clothing people actually might want to buy. [More]
Gap To Close 21% Of Its U.S. Stores By January
By 6.15.15
The mid-priced clothing business simply isn’t what it used to be. Today, Gap Inc. announced that it will be closing 175 of its Gap stores in the next few years, and 140 of them will close during this fiscal year, which ends in January. However, it’s just regular Gap stores that are closing: the company’s upmarket Banana Republic brand and downmarket Old Navy brand are doing fine, as are Gap outlets and factory stores. [More]
NY AG Probing Gap, Target & 11 Other Retailers For Possibly Illegal On-Call Scheduling Practices
By 4.13.15
Over the past several years, companies that employ hourly workers in New York have come under scrutiny for a variety of practices, including not providing reimbursement for uniforms to requiring some work be performed off the clock. Today, the state attorney general’s office began scrutinizing another practice by major retailers: the use of on-call scheduling. [More]
T.J. Maxx, Marshalls & HomeGoods To Increase Minimum Wage To $9/Hour
By 2.25.15
In another sign that retail companies are re-evaluating the way they pay employees, TJX Cos. – the parent company of stores like T.J. Maxx, Marshalls and HomeGoods – announced it intends to increase hourly wages for worker starting this year. [More]
Gap Is Shutting Down Piperlime, Which You’ve Maybe Heard Of
By 1.26.15
Gap is shutting down its Piperlime brand. “Piper what?” you may be saying. Exactly. The brand started as an online-only shoe store, then expanded to mostly selling items from designer brands that aren’t Gap Inc. brands. The brand was more upscale than Banana Republic, and that simply didn’t catch on with consumers. [More]
Gap Realizes “Normal” Clothing Isn’t A Trendy Selling Point, Offers Heavy Discounts
By 10.22.14
If you’re not the kind of person who pays attention to ironic trends that exist to serve only a select set of shoppers, the idea of “normcore,” or dressing in bland, boring, “normal” clothing is bound to be a bit silly. So while basic, everyday clothing is definitely a staple in many shoppers’ closets, Gap’s “Dress Normal” fall campaign may have gone a little too far into the normcore range for its own good, prompting the retailer to hold massive sales upon sales. [More]
