The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
SAN FRANCISCO, United States — Gap's struggles continued in November, with sales at established stores sliding a worse-than-expected 8 percent.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected a 6.3 percent decline in sales at stores opened at least a year. The metric is a key measure of a retailer's health because it strips out the impact of stores that have recently opened or closed.
Gap Inc. said November sales at established stores fell 4 percent at its namesake stores, 19 percent at its Banana Republic chain and 9 percent at Old Navy locations.
For the four weeks ended Nov. 28, total sales fell to $1.57 billion from $1.72 billion. On a constant-currency basis, sales fell 8 percent.
The San Francisco-based retailer's stock, which is down 38 percent this year, tumbled in extended trading Thursday after the sales report. Gap shares changed hands at $25.50 in after-market trading, down 2.3 percent.
In 2020, like many companies, the $50 billion yoga apparel brand created a new department to improve internal diversity and inclusion, and to create a more equitable playing field for minorities. In interviews with BoF, 14 current and former employees said things only got worse.
For fashion’s private market investors, deal-making may provide less-than-ideal returns and raise questions about the long-term value creation opportunities across parts of the fashion industry, reports The State of Fashion 2024.
A blockbuster public listing should clear the way for other brands to try their luck. That, plus LVMH results and what else to watch for in the coming week.
L Catterton, the private-equity firm with close ties to LVMH and Bernard Arnault that’s preparing to take Birkenstock public, has become an investment giant in the consumer-goods space, with stakes in companies selling everything from fashion to pet food to tacos.