Gap to close all 81 stores in UK and Ireland
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Re: Gap to close all 81 stores in UK and Ireland
#2From a former Gap exec:
> How did your time at The Gap shape your thinking about what you do at Herman Miller?
> I interviewed a guy who became my head of digital. He had worked in retail, and he said, “Do you know what excites me most about coming to this industry? I feel like I’m going from making landfill to making heirlooms.”
The fashion industry is the landfill industry.
Re: Gap to close all 81 stores in UK and Ireland
#3Their quality dropped a long, long time ago. I would never buy anything there now. I'm wearing a plain white Gap t shirt today - only 5 years old and not worn much, but the fabric is very thin and has stretched comically.
Re: Gap to close all 81 stores in UK and Ireland
#4It sounds like a move made out of desperation. But personally I don't see them surviving the online marketplace long-term. At least in a mall your competition is limited to the local stores. Online, it's everyone. Want to offer cheap clothing? You are competing with everyone from H&M to Amazon Essentials (https://www.amazon.com/stores/page/F8FB6F3C-F896-455C-BC52-7...). Want to offer slightly better quality at slightly higher prices? Congratulations, you're now going to face off against Uniqlo (https://www.uniqlo.com). Want to go higher? Then you need quality and brand power, which are hard to recover once you go for cheaper fast fashion the way Gap has. I struggle to identify a competitive advantage for Gap.
Re: Gap to close all 81 stores in UK and Ireland
#5The UK high street was struggling before Covid came along. I suspect it's going to be decimated when we come out of furlough.
Re: Gap to close all 81 stores in UK and Ireland
#6From a former Gap exec: > How did your time at The Gap shape your thinking about what you do at Herman Miller? > I interviewed a guy who became my head of digital. He had worked in retail, and he said, “Do you know what excites me most about coming to this industry? I feel like I’m going from making landfill to making heirlooms.” The fashion industry is the landfill industry.
Making a generalization off of that specific anecdote is pretty unfair IMO, there's a huge difference between Gap and Herman Miller. Gap is closer to IKEA while Herman Miller is closer to a well tailored suit. A range of quality exists in both industries.
Re: Gap to close all 81 stores in UK and Ireland
#7I wonder if this is a short-term strategy to force commercial property rents further down, and re-enter when they hit a feasible low.
In India, GAP apparently uses their retail stores in an omnichannel strategy to "warehouse" products closer to customers in an attempt to provide next-day delivery. [1]
[1] https://yourstory.com/2021/06/fashion-brands-omnichannel-fli... (paywalled, use reader-mode)
Re: Gap to close all 81 stores in UK and Ireland
#8The UK high street was struggling before Covid came along. I suspect it's going to be decimated when we come out of furlough.
Judging by all the signs up in windows, many retailers (and pubs/restaurants) seem to be struggling to find staff right now, at least in London. There can’t be that many retail workers still on the furlough scheme?
Re: Gap to close all 81 stores in UK and Ireland
#9The UK high street was struggling before Covid came along. I suspect it's going to be decimated when we come out of furlough.
Primark will never die
Re: Gap to close all 81 stores in UK and Ireland
#10It sounds like a move made out of desperation. But personally I don't see them surviving the online marketplace long-term. At least in a mall your competition is limited to the local stores. Online, it's everyone. Want to offer cheap clothing? You are competing with everyone from H&M to Amazon Essentials ( https://www.amazon.com/stores/page/F8FB6F3C-F896-455C-BC52-7... ). Want to offer slightly better quality at slig…
Idk if that's really a big deal, they already compete at other prices with old navy and banana republic. Unless those are struggling brands too, that would be news to me.