Word: banana
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Perhaps it was just too much of a good thing. When Pressler joined Gap as CEO in 2002, he took over the reins of an unwieldy empire, home to the Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic brands. The kingdom had become so enormous--$16.3 billion in sales at its peak, with 2,994 stores--that the only way for Gap to keep growing was to push clothes with broad appeal that could sell millions and millions of units. But once everyone had bought a pair of khakis, a white button-down and a few pocket Ts, what next? Pressler...
...Pressler's penny-pinching may have turned off the Gap's core customers. Sweaters that were once 100% cotton or wool, for example, showed up in stores as acrylic blends, and people noticed. Banana Republic tried to woo the same high-end consumers as J. Crew but didn't go far enough in offering luxury fabrics, like cashmere, that those shoppers wanted. In 2005, while department stores couldn't sell enough $100-plus premium jeans, the Gap skipped denim and tried to push khakis. "Pressler went too far in focusing on costs at the expense of merchandising," says Christine Chen...
...could be. (Remember the thrilling Jump & Jive khaki-campaign holiday spots?) Pressler launched two entirely new brands-- Forth & Towne, a midpriced line aimed at baby boomers, and Piperlime, an online shoe store--instead of working to make the Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic relevant again. Rather than trying to be everything to everyone again, says David Bassuk, retail consultant at Kurt Salmon Associates, Gap ought to focus its brands on a narrower group--shoppers in their...
...wardrobe basics that used to be the Gap's bread and butter, consumers now expect higher quality at a bargain price. Banana Republic has had some success filling that niche, promoting classically styled work clothes that can be brightened up for an evening out. Analysts say that brand is the one hot spot in Gap's portfolio, with sales rising 2% last year. "You don't want to waste Banana's profits fixing other parts of the company," says Bruce Greenwald, an economics professor at Columbia Business School...
...news after clashing with the station's board chairman, Alain de Pouzilhac, whose previous career was in advertising rather than news. Rumors of political maneuverings have been so thick that late last month an editorial in Le Monde accused the channel's bosses of "schemings unworthy of a banana republic...