Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Gap to close all 81 stores in UK and Ireland

bbc.co.uk

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

101–110 of 139 posts

Re: Gap to close all 81 stores in UK and Ireland

#101

Post by bgeeek »

alias_neo wrote: post #99
bgeeek wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't mind brands/logos but it's a double-edged sword. It's hard to like or want to wear something that's perceived to be in decline if there are logos/branding all over it. Gap, Superdry, Hollister all seem a bit passé to me. I still buy Gap, but never with the logo on it. Uniqlo seem fairly on the ball. The single length trouser size is very astute, although problematic for me as I live outside of London. Basical…

I had no idea they had a single-length trouser size. How does that work? Did I luck-out that they happen to be the perfect length for me, or is it directly tied to waist size rather than a global single-length? I first came across Uniqlo when I was in Japan, and their "shove everything in this box and close the door to scan your items into the self-service checkout" impressed me (as an Engineer, I enjoy these things)…

If you live in London, you can/could go into the store, buy the trousers (34" length?) and have them tailored within the day (can't remember if there is a charge for it). If you're outside of London (not sure if the Oxford, Manc stores do it), you're out of luck :(

Re: Gap to close all 81 stores in UK and Ireland

#102

Post by detritus »

chrisstu wrote: post #96
detritus wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do you think we'll lose Muji? Presumably you've tried UniQlo too?

I base the Muji prediction on their hopeless online presence, frequently changing stock items, the lack of customers in the clothing section and my experience with other UK retailers. I hope I'm wrong. I've tried UniQlo but so far have been unable to find an item I want to buy in there. I seem to recall on a recent visit that their winter coats have goose down, which I avoid.

> I base the Muji prediction on their hopeless online presence

Isn't that "A Thing" with Japanese companies? :)

Well, as long as their retail stores don't all disappear, I'm ok - I don't much like shopping for stuff like thay sell online.

Re: Gap to close all 81 stores in UK and Ireland

#103

Post by bgeeek »

barrkel wrote: post #98
alias_neo wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have never liked wearing obviously branded clothing, it always seemed counter-intuitive to me. People want to show off their brands, and I'm ok with that, but as a nerdy guy who has never had style as a priority (though I'm quite militant about the cut of one's suit being just right), it just isn't me, so that's always ruled out GAP for me in the past. If a brand splashes their name across the clothes they sell, I'…

The point of visible branding is that you leverage the brand value and marketing yourself. By purchasing the product and showing the label, you rely on other people's opinions of the brand to colour their opinion of you. This can work either way, of course, but you get to choose the brand and, indirectly, the type of people you're trying to change the opinion of. Chinos are a brand all of their own, just not a tradem…

Almost everything is cyclical in fashion. There was a period not long ago when jeans became unfashionable in the UK because they were associated with middle-age dads. People looked towards chinos (not the type you're talking about) as something different - you could get skinny/slim/athletic chinos. We've seen the same with skinny jeans - wider-leg jeans and other trousers now seem to be gaining pace.

Re: Gap to close all 81 stores in UK and Ireland

#104

Post by Mumps »

trwhite wrote: post #14

For tall guys, Gap is one of the few places you can buy 36" leg trousers and jeans. I wouldn't consider buying them anywhere else and the quality is pretty good too. I wonder if they even realise they almost have a monopoly on that.

but what about 'long torso' tall folk? I'm yet to ever find a good place for that - beside bespoke clothes (which just feels weird to order a v-neck from)

Re: Gap to close all 81 stores in UK and Ireland

#105

Post by alias_neo »

bgeeek wrote: post #101
alias_neo wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had no idea they had a single-length trouser size. How does that work? Did I luck-out that they happen to be the perfect length for me, or is it directly tied to waist size rather than a global single-length? I first came across Uniqlo when I was in Japan, and their "shove everything in this box and close the door to scan your items into the self-service checkout" impressed me (as an Engineer, I enjoy these things)…

If you live in London, you can/could go into the store, buy the trousers (34" length?) and have them tailored within the day (can't remember if there is a charge for it). If you're outside of London (not sure if the Oxford, Manc stores do it), you're out of luck :(

I am in London, but my local store is just outside. I has no idea this service was a thing. Fortunately for me, the off-the-shelf length is a perfect fit (34" for me).

Re: Gap to close all 81 stores in UK and Ireland

#106

Post by peytn »

lucian1900 wrote: post #94
arp242 wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I never quite understood the economics of clothing. Primark is well-known for being cheap, but also for having not exactly great quality, so clearly part of the cost-saving is in the production (e.g. materials, thickness, etc.) An average wage for a factory worker in Bangladesh seems about $0.33 USD; in Cambodia it's $0.85 USD; other countries are somewhere in between. I don't know how many clothes a single worker ca…

When production is only motivated by profit, why would any company choose to reduce its profits? That eventually leads to losing to the competition and more consolidation into fewer companies that are ever more ruthless. You’re just observing how capitalism works. It’s why some of us would prefer rationally and democratically planned production motivated by needs.

Are you talking about communism?

Re: Gap to close all 81 stores in UK and Ireland

#107

Post by alias_neo »

barrkel wrote: post #98
alias_neo wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have never liked wearing obviously branded clothing, it always seemed counter-intuitive to me. People want to show off their brands, and I'm ok with that, but as a nerdy guy who has never had style as a priority (though I'm quite militant about the cut of one's suit being just right), it just isn't me, so that's always ruled out GAP for me in the past. If a brand splashes their name across the clothes they sell, I'…

The point of visible branding is that you leverage the brand value and marketing yourself. By purchasing the product and showing the label, you rely on other people's opinions of the brand to colour their opinion of you. This can work either way, of course, but you get to choose the brand and, indirectly, the type of people you're trying to change the opinion of. Chinos are a brand all of their own, just not a tradem…

Interesting points. I suppose I've been subconsciously taking part all along.

As a child my parents dressed me in corduroys, as a teen I refused to wear blue jeans, always wore casual shirts.

School uniform was a blazer, sixth form was a suit. Even amongst a school full of suits my English teacher accused me of being "debonair" and "dapper", University was dark jeans, t-shirts, hoodies.

The early years of my career as a Software Engineer I wore shirt/tie, but got sick of standing out for being a smartly dressed software engineer and switched to chinos, converse and hoodies.

Since becoming a parent I maintain chinos, boots, t-shirt, jumper, wool coat out of work, and hoodies, chinos, converse, t-shirt for work.

Outside of Converse I've never worn trainers (Reebok, Nike, Adidas etc) in public unless I'm running.

Re: Gap to close all 81 stores in UK and Ireland

#108

Post by e-i-o-a »

ThePadawan wrote: post #58
durnygbur wrote: post #43

My dream is not paying 100-200 EUR for clothing which cost 1-10 EUR to produce. Don't care about your lifestyle, philosophy, trends, influencers, brand and logo. I want it vulgar - cash for good quality clothes.

I've recently found a (Swiss) shop which has the main business of printing and stitching logos onto bulk shirts, but will happily sell me low volumes of the blank clothes as well. Those do typically have shit quality at bargain prices, but as soon as you pay more than, let's say 10 EUR for a simple shirt, the quality is quite good (certainly better than C&A or most branded merch). That might be an avenue worth invest…

This is exactly what I'm looking for. Would you mind sharing the store? /Also Swiss

Re: Gap to close all 81 stores in UK and Ireland

#109

Post by colinjoy »

ClumsyPilot wrote: post #49
qmmmur wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In what sense? Clothes contain tonnes of a chemicals which break down when left in the ground and the rate which we are dumping them is disgusting.

A cotton t-shitt doesn't contain 'chemicals', but a synthetic one is obviously made of microplastic, and it's manufacturing process might produce them and release them .

that statement is false for the majority of cotton clothing. from dyes to preservation or even agents that prevent wrinkles, a new cotton shirt can be blessed with a nice array of potentially carcinogenic substances. and since you mention the manufacturing process: look up some studies on the deaths and environmental havoc caused by pesticides used in cotton production. chemicals are everywhere.

Re: Gap to close all 81 stores in UK and Ireland

#110

Post by arp242 »

lucian1900 wrote: post #94
arp242 wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I never quite understood the economics of clothing. Primark is well-known for being cheap, but also for having not exactly great quality, so clearly part of the cost-saving is in the production (e.g. materials, thickness, etc.) An average wage for a factory worker in Bangladesh seems about $0.33 USD; in Cambodia it's $0.85 USD; other countries are somewhere in between. I don't know how many clothes a single worker ca…

When production is only motivated by profit, why would any company choose to reduce its profits? That eventually leads to losing to the competition and more consolidation into fewer companies that are ever more ruthless. You’re just observing how capitalism works. It’s why some of us would prefer rationally and democratically planned production motivated by needs.

I think we can have capitalism(-ish) economies without outright exploitation. I don't even think it's necessarily that hard: we already have a powerful government that can step in and say "you're just being evil, quit it". It's just that we choose not to.

Actually, recently I've been thinking that our legalistic attitude towards a lot of these problems is actually the core issue. "It's legal so therefore we can do it". Well, okay, but that doesn't mean it's ethical. On the other hand we also don't want a government that can make arbitrary decisions on what is or isn't "ethical", but I do think a lot of problems could be solved if we would just focus more on what "the right thing" would be rather on that what is legal by the letter of the law. This is a thought I only had the other day and haven't fully fleshed out my thoughts on this yet though.

What you're describing sounds like "democratic communism", and that didn't really work out especially well in the past. A lot of communist countries started out with democratic aspirations; "any country with the word democratic in the name isn't democratic" is an old joke, but it's also true.

Even if we manage to avoid the "tyrant problem" we're still left with a central planning that may not necessarily make the best decisions, and I'm not so confident that any democratic controls we put in place would correct for that. A significant amount of China's problems in the 50s-70s for example weren't out of sheer tyrannical malice like in Stalinist Russia, but just gross incompetence of the leadership. Not a "democratically planned" economy, granted, but still an important lesson to heed IMHO: when a centrally planned economy screw up the effects can be disastrous.

Post reply on HN