Amanda Nicholson, professor of retail practice at Syracuse University's Martin J. Whitman School of Management is available to discuss Gap's challenges in an over-crowded marketplace. Some of her thoughts are below:
"What ails Gap, Inc. is bigger than a couple hundred underperforming stores. For the past several years the brand has lost its identity, relevance and resonance with the American public. There are a myriad of factors that make success in an over-stored marketplace like the U.S. very challenging, including an ever growing menu of new and price-conscious brands to excite the public – from Top Shop to H&M to Zara to Target. Just about every apparel store has jeans and khakis these days and most of the competition to GAP is offering some fantastic values, including its own sister chain, Old Navy. Couple this at Gap with a revolving door of merchants who have been trying to make the brand relevant in recent years – not the least of whom is their Chief Creative Director Rebekka Bay, who left in December and has not yet been replaced – and the challenge gets even larger. At the end of the day, the customer needs to leave the store with something in his or her bag – if nothing excites him or her, the retailer has lost the game. And the stakes are getting higher every day."
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