Is the GAP Dead?
Our friend the Gap is dying.....
Advertising Age (yes, I do read stuff other than Marie Claire) recently asked retail experts what they would do to save the Gap. Excerpts from the AdAge Article:
Paco Underhill, author of “Why We Buy” and founder and CEO of behavioral research firm Envirosell, New York: “They have to stick with Monday through Friday, which is where America works and plays, and not be distracted by Saturday night. They have to be in the uniform business rather than the costume business. They have to follow their customers. I wouldn’t compete with Abercrombie & Fitch and American Eagle. I would focus on Gen Xers and boomers.”
Joseph Beaulieu, retail analyst at Morningstar, Chicago: “They need to be less low-end at Old Navy. The store is starting to look like a cheap discount store. If you freed the Gap brand from having to avoid competing with Banana Republic at the high end and Old Navy at the low end, that could improve their target focus. They have these three segmented brands and don’t want them to step on each other. It’s more of positioning and merchandise issue.”
Seth Godin, marketing guru and author of “Small Is the New Big and 183 Other Riffs, Rants and Remarkable Business Ideas,” via e-mail: “I don’t think it can be done. The Gap represented a movement. It nationalized something regional at the same time they profited from the death of business dress. Both are over, quirkiness is back, and that’s that.”
Skirtalls aside, what would you do to save the Gap?
Click on the link below to read what I would do....
Here’s what I would do:
Gap: Stop trying to shove celebrities down our throats and focus on the basics- jeans, sweats, and khakis. I really don’t care whether or not Helen Mirren (whom I love) shops at the Gap, but I do care about finding a great pair of jeans- which is pretty much the hardest thing for women (and men) to buy. The Gap should bring back the famous jean wall and brand themselves as THE place with jeans to fit EVERY body type. Not everyone wants to spend $150 on a pair of jeans and the Gap could market themselves as the alternative. While they’re at it, they should change their fit model from teenage girls to your average woman. The Gap can’t compete with Forever 21.
Oldnavy: One word Skirtall. If your design team thinks up horrible pieces like that fugly skirtall, then you really are marching towards retail death. It’s like they hate their customers. I think the idea of one stop family shopping is good, and I guess for a while Old Navy was the most profitable part of Gap, Inc, but they did a turn, too and tried to go head to head with Forever 21, H&M, and Target. Bad move. Stick with being one of the only places a mom can get herself, her husband, and her kids jeans at the same time. Oh, Old Navy also needs to keep their stores clean. For the past year, every Old Navy I go into is a complete and utter mess.
Banana Republic: Banana Republic and I go way back. I’m talking back to before they were purchased by the Gap, when they primarily sold khakis and when they had the tees with that guy with the safari hat. I like Banana Republic and the store is a great alternative to higher priced sports wear brands like Michael Kors and Ralph Lauren.
Forth & Towne: This is the Gap’s new concept store that targeting working women ages 35+. I have to say that I LOVE this store and if they can get their merchandising down, this store can be a direct competitor with Anne Taylor. In fact, this store has the possibility to blow the socks off of Anne Taylor in terms of price (Huge Sales), fit (up to size 20 IN STORE), and quality (Thick Wool). I will stop and save some of my gushing for a post I’m writing about the store, but I think the Gap should expand and grow this concept.
Share Your Thoughts
January 17, 2007 Erica wrote:
I think the problem is that Old Navy, Gap and Banana Republic are sometimes too similar. My friends and I can see the same sweater with minor differences in each store. The company says the stitching is better at Banana Republic than at Old Navy, so when you pay more you get better quality. Nothing I have bought at Old Navy (I have not bought anything recently) has fallen apart. But to me the main reason is that the clothes sometimes are just boring. Banana Republic to me used to be modern about five years ago and their clothes looked different, but now how many turtleneck sweaters can someone have? It all comes down to the lack of originality and that all their clothes look the same as everything else that is out there.
January 17, 2007 Courtney wrote:
I agree that the Gap needs to get back to basics, especially business casual basics. Jeans, khakis, white button-downs...that’s what I used to love about them. They need to stop being so trendy.
I used to love Old Navy, but their stuff has gotten so weird lately. There are a lot of things I can’t imagine ANYONE wearing, and they always end up in the sale section anyway.
January 17, 2007 Amy wrote:
I couldn’t agree more about old navy being a mess! Every time I go in there, the hangers (on the clothes that aren’t on the floor) are marked one size, and the garments another. The sale racks are a mess, very hard to negotiate!
Banana Republic and Ann Taylor have it right, the sale racks are actually sorted by size, and I was in Lord and Taylor (I know, I know, completely different animal) and they had the sale items sorted by color!
Your blog rocks-read it every day, and tell everyone about it!
January 17, 2007 Anne wrote:
The Gap needs to get back to basics and carry jeans and khakis that FIT. In a size range that goes up to 20, in stock at the STORE. And keep carrying them. Why they thought they had to mess with a perfectly good boot cut and make the thighs so skinny I can’t get them over my knees, I don’t know. Stop with the teenybopperish crap and stock basics that people above age 20 would actually wear, and not in stupid colors like lime green and acid yellow. And for heaven’s sake, stop putting hoods on every top!
January 17, 2007 anonymous wrote:
They have to hire bright, experienced, stylish women to give them some advice.
January 17, 2007 Julie wrote:
@ Naadii
“tee shirts that can see thru are not good!”
I recently went into an Old Navy and saw the thin see through tees. Those are more for layering than just wearing alone.
I’ll admit it. I shop at Old Navy for tees. I love layering and Old Navy provides fitted tees at a reasonable price. Layering is so much easier than lugging around a heavy coat or sweater.
ANYWAYS back to the Gap.
When looking for more business attire, I have to look at fall fashions. As soon as winter hits they start stocking spring items and the majority of the time its office inappropriate. It may not be in all Gaps, but its what I’ve noticed in the one I’ve been too.
January 17, 2007 lulubird6 wrote:
I think that the GAP should dump Old Navy. It’s just dragging everyone down. Forth & Town is great and would do well to get some menswear in there. Dump Piperlime. Seriously. What are they trying to do with that anyway? And bring back the Great Wall of Jeans, please! Complete with tall, regular, ankle, etc.
January 17, 2007 TBF wrote:
@Erica- I agree about BN being too boring.. It’s like the same thing.. season after season....
PS They would save a ton of money on their marketing if they would dump the celebs
January 17, 2007 Christina wrote:
Well, I may be in the minority, but as a 27 year old cash-strapped grad student, I love Old Navy. Their jeans have a better fit than the Gap’s have had for the past two years. Sure, they have a lot of trendy pieces that are unnecessary, but they have nice casual layering pieces, and they DO have some work clothes; I just got a pretty red button down shirt there. I wouldn’t do most of my shopping for work there, though. But for casual pieces and for trendy pieces that you don’t want to pay too much money for, it’s a godsend. Also, their spring 2007 line has just come out with some pretty nautical inspired pieces.
As for the Gap, I mostly gave up when they chanegd their jeans sizing two years ago.
January 17, 2007 Jenny wrote:
I could not agree more! I haven’t been in an Old Navy in YEARS because 1.) most every piece of clothing I’ve bought there has been of very poor quality and 2.)their stores are disgusting and make me feel icky. I haven’t been very impressed by the Gap lately; I had to return a pair of shoes the day after I bought them because the soles were peeling off. Banana Republic on the other hand, I have nothing bad to say about. The clothes are well-made and the stores are beautiful.
January 17, 2007 Raina wrote:
Forth and Towne is the greatest store ever....great sales,price adjustments,beautiful and nice quality clothes!!! We need one in Manhattan!!
January 17, 2007 Lauren wrote:
I agree about Old Navy- I used to shop there when I was younger, but then I kept coming home with things I’d never wear, and things I’d never get to wear because they were so cheaply made.
Gap, on the other hand, I LOVE. There are so many great things in that store and I wear 2-4 Gap pieces every day. I have never been more happy with a clothing store, and their Product (RED) section is wonderful for raising awareness. Endorsement does get annoying, but whatever works is worth it.
Gap clothes are well-made and cute. I think the overall problem here is that they have changed their audience without the audience’s knowledge. They used to be better for middle-aged women, and they are slowly moving to younger clothing. But, for the younger woman, the clothing is cute, functional, and reasonably priced.
January 17, 2007 sara wrote:
If GAP were to disappear from the face of the earth, I simply wouldn’t care. I like Old Navy for fun, trendy pieces and for their great sales, and I like BR occasionally for staples (though I can rarely afford them without a sale and their quality has been iffy for me recently). But I basically hate everything at the GAP. The denim is overpriced and poorly cut, the trendy stuff is practically unwearable, and their basics are overpriced and tired. I much prefer the dynamic duo of Ann Taylor and Ann Taylor Loft above the whole GAP franchise. I’ve only been to one Fourth and Towne and it seemed pricey to me, but I bet you can probably do ok if there’s a sale.
January 17, 2007 Shirley wrote:
I’ve worked at Banana Republic when I was in college and I carry the same mentality when shopping for their clothes across all brands: wait for the sales! Because every single item WILL go on sale. You just have to wait for it. And this point, I don’t even shop in their stores because there’s too much to look it!
And the stuff is exactly the same. You can find the same freakin merino wool sweater at all three stores that look the same but feel slightly different. And why pay those price points when you can get an equally great piece and cheaper at H&M;?
I wish Forth & Town would provide online shopping or something for the city girl who wouldn’t even know where to find one!
And finally Gap spends way too much on celeb endorsements but doesn’t seem to make the information public? They should either cut back or milk it for what it’s worth. Case in point, hottie Wentworth Miller of Prison Break is in their in-store ads but no press release on it at all?!?! Befuddled I tell you!
January 17, 2007 Claire wrote:
I’m in the minority here: I love Old Navy and do a ton of shopping there. Their prices are good, their tank tops and flip flops come in pretty colors, and I’m always able to find clothes that are neither overly trendy nor overly boring. I’ve never had a problem with the quality of the clothes either. Sure, the skirtall is gross, but it’s not as if that’s the only item they sell.
I’ve bought things from the Gap exactly once, because someone gave me a gift card. I’m on a very limited budget and their clothes are just too expensive for me. Plus, their jeans, which are the one thing I might splurge on, didn’t fit me right last time I tried some on (which, admittedly, was a few years ago, but still).
I have never shopped at Banana Republic or Forth & Towne, but I suspect that as a 19 year old on a student budget, I’m not their target audience anyway.
Mostly just wanted to defend Old Navy. :)
January 18, 2007 Anna wrote:
I actually LOVE Old Navy. I wouldn’t see anyone with a womanly body loving it. I like there new-found trendiness… Their cashmere scoop neck sweaters in december were super soft and inexpensive at 30$…
January 18, 2007 AJ wrote:
First of all, as a plus sized woman I can say I have never shopped in a Gap store for clothes. However, I have noticed the fall of Gap too. Even their commercials (which used to really be cool...remember the mello yellow commercial?) have gotten worse. Old Navy used to be my stand by, but honestly some of their clothes have gotten a little weird, and they have strayed away from the way they began. If not for the new plus sized line (which is a god send that I can find jeans that are less than $40, and decent work clothes that are less than $50 at Old Navy) I probably would not shop there anymore. I agree with everyone, Gap, Old Navy, and so forth need to resist the trend to follow forever 21 and so forth. Eventually the Forever 21 girls will grow up, and they’ll need some decent adult clothes to do it in! And Old Navy IS a mess everytime I go in there!
January 18, 2007 sasha wrote:
I don’t shop at the gap because i can’t find anything to fit me, and not because everything is too small but because it’s too big. i’m over 20 and not a size 12 but i like to consider myself a “normal” woman. I hate how normal suddenly means big. If banana republic didn’t make a petite 00 then i couldn’t buy anything without having it drastically altered. Also, i’m 5’4” so petite shirts don’t fit because they’re too short and regular shirts are too big. But boohoo to me for being small right?
January 18, 2007 TBF wrote:
Sasha- your points are very valid- petite fashionistas have it as hard, probably even harder than plus size fashionistas. I’ve been search for YEARS for an expert that can talk intelligently about petite fashions and I just haven’t found one.
January 18, 2007 dowdydiva wrote:
For some reason I find great coats at Old Navy. And I like their tees. But they’re starting to ditch a lot of tall sizes in basics like yoga pants, and that’s frustrating. Also, their much-vaunted plus size line is in hardly any stores in my area.
Gap needs to carry plus-sized clothes in the stores, not just online. If they made some +sized talls, that would be great too. I mostly buy bags there.
There’s no Forth and Townes in my area, which is too bad.
BR is too expensive, and if you go in there to just shop sale accessories, and you’re not a size 2, the sales clerks smirk at you.
I think Lane Bryant and the department stores have picked up a lot of my business that would go to them. They need to stop fearing us bigger people and at least throw us a bone.
January 18, 2007 kate wrote:
To speak to a different aspect of the Gap- I am pregnant, and their maternity clothes are my favorite affordable clothes out there. BUT they don’t carry any in the store!! I live three blocks away from Gap’s flagship store on Michigan Ave in Chicago and I still have to order all my clothes from them online, try them on, and then return the ones I don’t like (which gets me evil comments from the salesclerks) because they carry about 1/3 of their merchandise in the store.
I totally agree about bringing back the jeans. I used to only buy jeans at the Gap because you could always find long sizes in the store, and sometimes even extra long, and now I usually have to order them because they don’t carry the same size selection in store!
January 18, 2007 silentgrrl wrote:
Gap Inc.’s problem is that there is not really anything that makes each store stand out from their other stores. Old Navy and Gap to me are similar except Gap’s a little bit more expensive but the price range I think is still reasonable if things fit properly which I haven’t experienced.
Old Navy’s problem is that it has too wide of an audience I think because they’re goal is to be cheap. This makes for a lot of possible audience which makes for a messy store. I think that Old Navy has to make up it’s mind of whether it wants to be young and trendy or for mom’s.
If Old Navy made up, it’s mind of who it’s marketing to besides just being cheap, I think that Gap could take over the other part and make things around the current Gap prices and cheaper.
I don’t know about BR and Forth and Towne but I looked at their websites and it seems to me that they’re pricing is similar and their age group is similar except BR is for the business woman at work and Forth and Towne is for them in the country or something...I don’t know, I think that they could have easily put both together into one store rather than branching out with a new store.
January 18, 2007 Dianna wrote:
I agree Gap Inc. stores are going down hill. Old Navy needs to design better clothes. I am a plus size woman and I used to love shopping at Old Navy. It seems now that their clothes look too cheaply made. The beading and thread designs on their tees always comes undone. The plus size clothing offered in their women’s plus line is not up to par with the rest of the women’s line. I also think they need to stop putting the sizes on their hangers, they never match the size of the clothing on the hanger. I also think there jeans don’t fit well. As for The Gap I agree they need to go back to basics. Banana Republic needs to stop making clothes that look like they were taken from a sofa pattern. All the stores need to stop shoving their brands credit card down customers throats.
January 18, 2007 Leah wrote:
I agree with several points made in some of the posts.
1) HM can offer decently-made peices, without the high prices. and STILL offer basic staples as well as trendy peices.
2) Every item from BR and the GAP eventually goes on sale. This used to frustrate me when I shopped there. But now I just stopped shopping at teh Gap because quite frankly, it bores me. And Old Navy just doesn’t have the quality or cut that young professionals are looking for.
In my opinion, SJP didn’t bring down the Gap at all. When she had her ad campaign, that was the last time I shopped at the store. She made it fun and quirky, and now its just a place for tshirts and jeans.
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January 17, 2007 naadii wrote:
i think that the gap needs to be more functional. it’s a little too casual. as a working woman, i must say that i was really pissed to go shopping at a n old navy store AND a gap store only to find that neither store had ANY skirts suitable for work. old navy had no skirts for sale at ALL! i think that they have made the mistake of thinking that the entire world lives in jeans and khakis. i found myself asking, what happened to the nice clothes? also tee shirts that can see thru are not good!