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Gap to close all 81 stores in UK and Ireland

bbc.co.uk

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

#31

Post by detritus »

chrisstu wrote: post #30

I'd say things have been heading south for Gap UK shops for the last 10 years and accelerated recently. They have been on a downward quality path for a long time with no apparent strategy. Every time you go back, they have different ranges, so no repeat purchases are even possible. Found something you like and want to buy again? Tough. And the quality got progressively worse. For basics like jeans and t-shirts, I swi…

Why do you think we'll lose Muji?

Presumably you've tried UniQlo too?

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

#32

Post by mywacaday »

ppf wrote: post #23
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.

It's a struggle, looking for long-leg trousers in the UK. Next also has them, and their one-from-cheapest range is good enough for me.

I get nearly all my jeans from Next, they are the only retailer I trust to be consistent in their sizing across styles, makes buying from them online much easier. Other retailers could learn a lot I'm that area alone.

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

#33

Post by detritus »

WesleyHale wrote: post #25
sirius87 wrote: post #7

I 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)

> 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. I believe this is the eventual move a lot of brick and mortar stores are going to make to compete with Amazon. I've been told by a Best Buy manager their end goal is to turn a majority of their stores into fulfilment centers.

This is what Sainsbury's appear to be doing - consolidating some of their Argos branches with larger Sainsburys stores and added general fulfillment centres. Not sure if this is across the country, but it was interesting to see the apparently-quick turnaround during Lockdown at some local stores here.

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

#34

Post by detritus »

dageshi wrote: post #16
sirius87 wrote: post #7

I 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)

You might need to do that in India, in the UK it's so small relatively speaking that a couple of distribution centers in the right places can probably serve the entire country.

We already have oodles of those - you can see them off major motorway arteries and intersections.

I think this is more about last-mile fulfillment.

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

#36

Post by bgeeek »

Gap's problems for me:

1) Sticking Gap on everything. That kind-of logo/advertisement in huge lettering is great on the way up, but not on the way down. Superdry take note. You could not pay me to wear either.

2) Pricing and price point. It's frankly been bizarre for years. Overpriced when compared to new competitors, such as Uniqlo. Not quite good enough to compete with other stores, such as Levi's or more designer brands. Its position in the market felt awkward in recent times.

I still buy chinos and plain t-shirts from Gap. No logo and so nobody knows. Despite their crazy vanity sizing, they still offer a range of sizes unlike Uniqlo, which only offers tailoring in-store at present in the UK.

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

#37

Post by bgeeek »

chrisstu wrote: post #30

I'd say things have been heading south for Gap UK shops for the last 10 years and accelerated recently. They have been on a downward quality path for a long time with no apparent strategy. Every time you go back, they have different ranges, so no repeat purchases are even possible. Found something you like and want to buy again? Tough. And the quality got progressively worse. For basics like jeans and t-shirts, I swi…

Gap's quality is higher than H&M, IMHO. Zara is another of Gap's rivals that seems to be expanding in the UK highstreet, although I rarely find anything worth purchasing.

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

#38

Post by globular-toast »

an_opabinia wrote: post #2

From 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.

There is also the water consumption. One cotton t-shirt uses more than 2000 litres of water. That's about a month's worth of daily showers. It wouldn't be too bad if the garment would last 10+ years, but they don't.

Unfortunately the people (mostly women) who drive this are addicted to the churn of clothes. It's not about a basic need to be warm and protected. It's about maintaining a constant source of novelty by buying new clothes almost every week. In my experience, half of the clothes they buy don't fit and/or they don't like them when they get them home.

When I was little my mum used to buy most our clothes second hand from car boot sales and the like. I can't believe people buy brand new children's clothes. You know they are going to grow out of them. Unfortunately, in the UK at least, second-hand clothes have been largely stigmatised and many people won't even consider them. I have recently seen apps which specialise in second-hand clothes. This would be great but I think it's going to take a lot to convince people not to think of clothes and consumables.

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

#39

Post by himinlomax »

globular-toast wrote: post #38
an_opabinia wrote: post #2

From 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.

There is also the water consumption. One cotton t-shirt uses more than 2000 litres of water. That's about a month's worth of daily showers. It wouldn't be too bad if the garment would last 10+ years, but they don't. Unfortunately the people (mostly women) who drive this are addicted to the churn of clothes. It's not about a basic need to be warm and protected. It's about maintaining a constant source of novelty by bu…

> There is also the water consumption. One cotton t-shirt uses more than 2000 litres of water. That's about a month's worth of daily showers. It wouldn't be too bad if the garment would last 10+ years, but they don't.

What does that even mean? Does the water just disappear?

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

#40

Post by jonplackett »

himinlomax wrote: post #39
globular-toast wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is also the water consumption. One cotton t-shirt uses more than 2000 litres of water. That's about a month's worth of daily showers. It wouldn't be too bad if the garment would last 10+ years, but they don't. Unfortunately the people (mostly women) who drive this are addicted to the churn of clothes. It's not about a basic need to be warm and protected. It's about maintaining a constant source of novelty by bu…

> There is also the water consumption. One cotton t-shirt uses more than 2000 litres of water. That's about a month's worth of daily showers. It wouldn't be too bad if the garment would last 10+ years, but they don't. What does that even mean? Does the water just disappear?

No but it had to be turned into fresh water suitable for use which uses energy and also can’t be used by someone else. There are water shortages all over the place.
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