More trouble for the once popular clothing brand The Gap as the year continues. CNN is reporting that the store’s overall sales at store-open last year fell approximately 4%. Trouble has hit the other brands under the company too. Reportedly, Old Navy sales dropped about 3% and sales at Banana Republic have dropped about 9%. The Gap has also reported that its sales from the second quarter are down from a year ago as well.
Chief Financial Officer Sabrina Simmons has released some statements about the company and its financial state as well. CNN also reports that Simmons did confirm that performance was across the board in the quarter, but some of the larger brands of the company were allowing them to believe that improvement in the near future.
Reports are claiming that the company is losing many of its old customers to brands like Zara, Forever 21, and H&M. These clothing stores are able to sell trendy clothing to a young customer at a reasonable price. Other stores like Macy’s and Micheal Kors are also seeing some losses because of the transition many shoppers are making to stores like these.
This decline is still relatively new for the Gap. Once upon a time, the company was one of the most notable places for young and trendy people to shop. Many celebrities have even promoted the companies clothing in the past. Celebrities like Sarah Jessica Parker, Jessica Alba, Don Cheadle, and Pharrell have all been in ads for the company. This was very good for them in the late 1990s and early 2000s. In recent years, their amount of celebrity endorsement has declined.
Failing businesses mean a loss of jobs. Though people reported that the economy and the market has made many improvements in recent years, some big businesses are still having a hard time recovering, This is very true for the changing fashion industry. One can only hope that the Gap is able to come back.
