Retail-the Gap

Gap, Inc. is a leading American specialty apparel retailer based in San Francisco, California. It sells casual apparels, accessories, and other personal care products for men, women, and children. The products of Gap, Inc. include denim, khakis, T-shirts, boxers, and casual wear. It is traded in New York Stock Exchange under the symbol GPS. Currently, the company boasts approximately 150,000 employees and 3,139 stores all around the world. Gap, Inc. sustains a large number of brands, namely Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic, Forth & Towne, Piperlime, and others. These different companies were bought by the parent company at different times. What started as a general jeans retailing store, Gap, Inc. in 2008 had a market revenue of $14.5 billion. Throughout its history, Gap, Inc. has established itself as a leader in the industry.
In 1969 the first Gap store was opened in San Francisco, CA by Don and Doris Fisher. Fisher’s initial goal was to open a store that would sell records and jeans, but no one seemed to notice the jeans so the store was getting very close to bankruptcy. That is when he decided to put ads in local newspapers to draw more attention to his new store. The low prices in his advertisements brought in customers, and soon the clothes were sold out. Fisher then decided to name his new store The Gap, implying that the merchandise was geared toward the age group in the “Generation Gap.” The store’s combination of jeans, low prices, and a wide selection brought in a customer crowd between the ages of 14 and 25. As this group got older, their styles and tastes changed. They no longer wanted Levi’s, which caused The Gap to expand its selection of clothing. It started carrying shirts, sweaters, and accessories as well.
In 1975 Gap stores generated $100 million in net sales. By 1976 the company offered 1.2 million shares in the stock market, going for $18 per share. Shortly after, however, the retail industry went into a steep downhill slide, pushing the...