Over 225 Gap & Banana Republic Stores Will Be Closing
The demise of retail trend continues.
In its latest earnings report, Gap Inc. announced that they will be closing over 225 Gap and Banana Republic stores across the globe. Closures will begin this year with some extending into 2021. According to CNN Business, this is significantly higher than the 90 stores they originally planned back in March.
In the second quarter, Gap Inc. said they saw much improvement in sales (across all their brands -- Gap, Banana Republic, Athleta, Old Navy, Intermix, Janie & Jack, and Hill City) compared to the first quarter when their stores were closed due to the pandemic.
The company delivered positive operating income and improved its cash balance by over $1 billion compared to the first quarter, ending the quarter with a cash and cash equivalents balance of $2.2 billion.
However, despite the improvement, the majority of their sales came from online shopping while store sales dropped 48%. Therefore they've made the decision to close even more stores.
Out of the company's four major brands, Gap and Banana Republic suffered the most. Net sales for the second quarter compared to the same time in 2019, declined 28% and 52% respectively. Overall, Old Navy saw a 5% decrease in net sales while Athleta saw a rise of 6%.
The locations of the affected stores will be released in October. The majority of those closing will be in malls.
Gap Inc's earnings report shows that over 6 months (ending Aug. 1) they closed a total of 87 Gap stores and 50 Banana Republic stores, globally -- most of those in North America.
In June, it was announced that Gap signed a 10-year deal with Kanye West for a new clothing line for men, women, and children. The company anticipates it will make $1 billion in sales from this new line alone.