What is the reason for Gap's long downturn?

What is the reason for Gap's long downturn?

After a long period of downturn, Gap still can't go low.

Gap owns Gap, OldNavy, BananaRepublic, ForthandTowne and website piperlime.com. Gap was known for its urban casual style and large company scale. Its khaki casual wear, T-shirts, sweatshirts and accessories have been praised by consumers for decades.

However, this clothing company, which was once characterized by high quality and low price, is raising the prices of its entire line of products. At this time, H&M and Target are introducing fashionable and reasonably priced products. Target has already signed with top designers such as Issac Mizrahih and BehnazSarafpour to design and produce a series of cheap fashion products so that consumers can choose fashion without worry.

Gap has long been impressive for its T-shirts and jeans, and the transition to luxury goods or high-end products is not easy. A $25 jeans and a $6.99 T-shirt will no longer exist. To build high-end products, Gap actually cuts everything under $20 from inventory. Gap's new offline brand, Forthand Towne, is priced from $50 to $150, indicating that the company is trying to maximize profits from the transition.

J.Crew, RalphLauren, and AnnTaylor are also offering mass products, but the quality is relatively high, like Kashmir sweaters, golf shirts, stone-washed jeans ... but Gap offers these mass products at a high price. For example, a knitted pullover with a wool content of only 15% would sell for $49.50, while J.Crew, a 100% pure woollen sweater with the same style, would sell for $69.50. In contrast, J.Crew's positioning is more in line with people's shopping psychology.

Gap uses low-end raw materials from the former CEO Paul Pressler's "calculated to a penny" plan. He joined Gap in 2002, according to the Times Weekly report, when the company was in debt of 3.2 billion US dollars. Pressler then launched a price increase plan. Pressler had just resigned earlier this year and Gap not only wanted to find his replacement, but also sought the chief designer. According to reports from the society, the chief designer of the company, Charé„„lotte Neuville, had just announced his resignation on February 8, 2007.

Gap means a gap in English. Like its name, Gap's business philosophy is to "fill the gap in the market." Under this purpose, Gap continues to fill the gaps in the market, forming a large and full product line to please all consumers. Gap is also filling in the age difference. Consumers of different ages can find corresponding products in Gap... Perhaps it can be thought that the motivation of Gap to succeed leads precisely to its decline. Trying to please everyone, everyone is dissatisfied. The brand, LimitedToo, is specifically aimed at children, AmericanEagle is focused on teenagers, and ColdWaterCreek is focused on middle-aged and older people. The positioning of Gap is so vague that it is dispensable to anyone. Target is currently launching a marketing campaign to try to attract young customers in the 13-25 age group who originally belonged to Gap, and Target appears to be successful through advertising and other marketing techniques. Today's consumers are more and more self-conscious and more savvy at fashion. There are high-end brands and low-end brands in the apparel market, and Gap falls into it.

Recently, Gap announced that it will seek the chief designer to replace Charlotte Neuville, and stressed that the candidates will come from outside the company, perhaps this is a repositioning of Gap, an opportunity to reproduce brilliant.