Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic are three of the most well known brands in retail. The number

of stores by location at the end of fiscal 2001 and 200 was 3,079 and 2,848, respectively.

Gap is credited with creating the “casual basics” category of apparel, which includes khakis, t-shirts,

button-down shirts, knit tops and other comfortable separates. Gap revolutionized the specialty

apparel category and quickly grew to become the industry leader and spawned several imitators.

In general, the specialty retail apparel industry is characterized by stores that either sell only clothing

or a combination of clothing and personal care items. It is this pinpoint focus on apparel and style

products that differentiates the current retail store format from its predecessor, the department store.

Prior to the opening of the first enclosed shopping mall in Edina, MD in 1956 most clothes shopping

was done primarily in department stores. Despite offering the convenience of being able to shop for

multiple purposes under the same roof, such stores by definition lacked any real focus on clothes and

thus tended to stock traditional and conserv

1. Offer the right products in the right assortments.

Some topics in this essay:
Banana Republic, Gap Outlet, That’s Gap, Intense Competition, Current Liabilities, Management SHRM, Net Sales, Non-comp Net, Gap GapKids/, Furthermore Navy, store sales, banana republic, net sales, fiscal 2001, comparable store sales, comparable store, yr avg, 2001 2000, current ratio, primarily due, 5 yr avg, square foot, fiscal 2001 200, provided operating activities, non-comparable store sales,