Word: gap
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...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...
...Gap's advertising, too, veered off course. Signing up the rapper Common as a pitchman was a play for teen consumers, but analysts point out that it might have been better to forget that fickle demographic and win back folks who remember the Gap in its heyday. Meanwhile, Pressler missed his chance to remind people in their 20s and 30s how hip the Gap 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...
...been gorging themselves at the so-called fast-fashion boutiques, such as H&M, Zara and Mexx. These stores have figured out how to cut the clothing cycle down from six months to six weeks, so their racks are constantly replenished with fresh styles still wet from the runway. Gap, on the other hand, with its huge operations and slower reaction times, has been forced into the riskier business of guessing up front how a season's trends will play out (skinny jeans? newsboy caps?) and making huge bets on a few ideas...
...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...
...spun itself off and repositioned itself as the hottest label for the teen crowd. Even once dowdy JCPenney reinvigorated itself by hiring a smart merchandiser, Vanessa Castagna, as executive vice president and giving her the freedom to remake the brand. "She helped make Penney's cool, and the Gap needs to be cool," says Chen...