Gap Inc. has announced plans to close 220 of its Gap stores and 130 of its Banana Republic stores by 2024.
The San Francisco-based company stated the closings represent 30% of its North American retail presence. No specific stores were immediately identified for closing, but the company is planning to focus on shuttering its mall stores while focusing on the outlet and e-commerce businesses for these brands.
Simultaneously, Gap Inc. is also planning to add between 30 and 40 stores for its Athleta and Old Navy brands in the next three years. The company has roughly 1,200 Old Navy locations and 200 Athleta stores across the country.
The Associated Press reported that Gap Inc. CEO Mark Breitbard made the announcement during an investor call, noting that the company became “overly reliant on low-productivity, high-rent stores.” Breitbard added the company “used the past six months to address the real estate issues and accelerate our shift to a true omni-model.”
Nonetheless, it will be business as usual for the Gap and Banana Republic brands. The company also announced a pair of holiday campaigns for these brands: a “Dream the Future” promotion for Gap that includes a reimagined version of “Dream Baby Dream” by singer/songwriter Karen O. and a “Love the Present” campaign for Banana Republic featuring images of couples and families by photographer Cass Bird. “Love the Present” is also the first seasonal campaign for Banana Republic to air nationally across television since 2005.
Fairfield County has Gap stores in Danbury, Fairfield, Stamford and Westport and Banana Republic stores in Danbury and Stamford. Across the New York border, Gap stores are in Central Valley, Mount Kisco and West Nyack while Banana Republic has a store in Poughkeespie.
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