The Gap is an international American retail sensation, originally opened in 1969 by Doris and Donald Fisher. The Fisher family intended The Gap to reach out to younger buyers, and the store promised to deliver better customer service and selections than most clothing retailers at the time were providing. In the early 1980s, The Gap started putting out its own private apparel items. In 1983, The Gap acquired Banana Republic, a Caribbean themed outlet, and retooled it as an upscale clothing line. Eleven years later, The Gap launched a casual value outlet called Old Navy, which won the hearts and minds of consumers through its quirky, ironic ad campaigns. The next year, The Gap pioneered safer working conditions for its overseas factories and earned the praise of international labor groups. Today, Gap Inc. is responsible for more than 3,000 stores around the world and boasts over 150,000 employees. In 2004, founder and Chairman Donald Fisher officially stepped down, and the company sold many of its European operations to a Swedish company by the name of H&M. Later that year, The Gap launched a specialty line of women's wear for older woman, ages 35 and up. The Gap has employed a number a Hollywood luminaries to promote its wears. These celebs include Sarah Jessica Parker, Madonna, and Lenny Kravitz, all of whom emphasize the versatility of Gap clothes--one of the company's major draws. With a combination of classic clothes such as khakis, jeans, sweater, blazers, and tees, as well as funkier offerings from season to season, The Gap provides a surprising range of styles and fresh colors.
|
