slickvguy

Can The Gap Turn Things Around?

As someone with intimate knowledge of The Gap (my wife has been a manager of a large store for about a decade), and a father of 3 teenage daughters, I think I have a lot of insight into their problems. Let me be blunt: this is a dinosaur whose time has passed. What is required is too radical for management to contemplate/undertake, and thus they will fade away. A strong balance sheet could be helpful, but in this case it won't be. How many new CEO's and "corporate re-inventions" until it becomes laughable?

You pointed out a number of the problems, but let me also add that this company operates like a large bureacracy, akin to government. They are far too inflexible. Technologically outdated too. They are inefficient and in many cases flat out incompetent.

But getting back to the marketing, not only has the Gap lost my daughters as they became teens, but they've also lost me. I do shop a bit at BR, but find them to be very overpriced for the quality they offer, and their clothes don't fit well. I find their lines puzzling. Too much of it is basic, Gap style, an not worth the price difference. The Gap's merchandise quality and manufacturing quality control has also slipped over the past few years. Go try on 4 pairs of the exact same size (waist and length) jeans, and it's amazing how differently one pair to the next will fit you! I (and many others I speak to) also find that there is a strong GAY-ish aspect to their male clothes (aside from the basics).

Bottom line: who does the Gap satisfy? Answer: very few.

And that's the problem, because if they were smart enough to REALLY change (especially their name - "The Gap" is too entrenched in people's minds as "boring"), they'd have to choose ONE part or another of the market, and their sales would be smaller (though possibly more profitable?). Trying to be all things to all people hasnt' worked, and trying to be "hip" hasn't worked. No matter what merchandise they put in a Gap store, my kids won't buy it. For them, it's simply too UNCOOL to shop at the Gap. American Eagle et al is where they shop. That's yet another reason I recommend the name change.

But they won't let go of the past, and thus they are doomed. We've seen this countless times. They are trying to make small changes here and there, but they are missing the big picture. They refuse to accep that times have changed, and so have their customers. They need to *CHOOSE* what it is they stand for (image) and who it is they want as their market. You cannot be all things to all people.

They made a huge mistake with Old Navy and Banana because they see their 3 brands as PRICE LEVELS. Instead, they should have positioned them as 3 different IMAGES to market to 3 different sectors. Follow? The current situation is ridiculous. You can go into Old Navy, Gap, and BR and see the exact same items - only at different quality levels (and slightly different colors). That's nuts! Old Navy should have been the COOL store - not cheaper - COOLER! As someone pointed out, you can't compete on price with the competition - and why would you want to? The Gap should be left for the basics. And BR for the yuppy/professional. Of the 3 units, BR is the closest to being positioned properly.

Sorry for the long post, but it frustrates me to see a company with so much potential just pizzing it down the drain. They need RADICAL changes, and the odds are that it won't happen.

p.s. The one area I give The Gap full marks for, is the shopping experience. Once you enter their stores, and try to buy, their staff is just about the only staff I encounter who are TRAINED to assist the customer in such a professional manner. Especially in the changing rooms. They really make the effort. The stores are well-managed. Too bad the company (top-down) isn't.