Can Gap Save Itself In China?

According to the world clothing shoes and hats net, in August 25th,

China's largest flagship store opened in Nanjing West Road, Shanghai, 863.

So far, its number of stores in China has exceeded 160, including Gap, Gap factory stores and Old Navy stores in about 40 cities in mainland China, Hongkong and Taiwan.

Gap (Gai Pu) was born in California, USA, and is the largest in the world.

Retailers and leisure fashion giants.

Since its inception in 1969, it is famous for its high quality and low price.

Its products are mainly based on tannin, white shirts, khaki trousers and other popular basic funds.

Because of this, at the very beginning, in the United States, it also acts as a bridge between rebellious young hippies and old parents. Because the price is affordable and the style is not very popular, the two generation can wear a series of jeans with Gap.

At the same time, Gap was also famous for the actor Shharon Stone wearing a high necked sweater and a Valentino skirt to attend the Oscar prize presentation ceremony.

Similar to the question of uniqe fitting room, Gap also became the focus of attention in 1998 because it was the manufacturer of Monica Lewinsky Monica Lewinsky stained blue skirt.

But as time went on, Gap's life in the United States was not as good as before.

In June 2015, it was also regarded as the darkest month in the history of Gap. It announced that it had shut down 175 sub branches in North America, and at the same time, it had laid off 250 people at headquarters.

Since then, Gap is just like the evil spirits, and the performance is still not going to rebound.

After the first quarter of 2016, Gap announced that it would close 75 Old Navy and Banana Republic stores outside North America.

In November, the third quarter earnings report showed that Gap sales had been down for 7 consecutive quarters. It also announced that it would close 65 stores and gradually reduce the size of the shops, which is much more than 50 previously anticipated.

It is reported that between 2015 and 2017, the North American market which accounted for 79% of the business, and Asia and Japan closed hundreds of stores.

This month, it announced that it would withdraw from the Australian market and close all its stores in Australia.

However, while closing the globe, Gap targeted the target.

"We are very optimistic about the Chinese market, so we have upgraded the store design, hoping to give consumers a better shopping experience."

Abinta Malik, executive vice president and general manager of Greater China, Gap group, said.

The new flagship store design element, Gap, is the first flagship store in Shanghai, which has presented the digital, family and all its products to Chinese consumers for the first time.

Meanwhile, in response to investor questions in 2016, group CEO Art Peck also said it wanted to open 40 new stores in China and began to aim at two or three line cities.

But the Chinese market is also challenging for Gap.

First of all, because of its late entry into China, it has lost the first opportunity to divide the market compared to ZARA, UNIQLO and H&M.

Secondly, from the supply chain cycle, ZARA, UNIQLO and H&M are also higher than GAP.

Moreover, in China, there are more than 600 stores in UNIQLO, more than 500 in ZARA, 400 in H&M, and more than 160 in GAP, and the speed of expansion is not as fast as that of UNIQLO every year.

Nevertheless, Gap put its first new upgrade store in China.

In an interview with reporters earlier, Rudy Montenegro, senior director of Creative Development Department of Gap group, said, "stores do not necessarily have to pursue big things blindly, but should pay more attention to the flexibility of space.

In a limited space, more abundant works can be accommodated.

This also indicates that the next Gap stores in China will pay more attention to the flexibility of the area, instead of blindly pursuing big shops.

At the same time, Gap also said that the latest elements in China's biggest flagship store, such as digitalization and family sense, will be extended to other stores.

More interesting reports, please pay attention to the world clothing shoes and hats net.