Gap has announced plans to close its Forth & Towne division, which catered to women ages 35 and older, saying it would instead focus on turning around the company's struggling flagship and Old Navy brands.
Forth & Towne was launched 18 months ago in New York and Chicago. Locations in Houston, Atlanta, Seattle and across California followed over the past year. The chain has 19 locations, and Forth & Towne President Gary Muto once said he planned to have 25 stores by the end of this year.
Gap said it will close its Forth & Towne stores by the end of June.
It is difficult to know what lessons to learn from this venture. Last year sales at Gap stores in North America, open at least a year, fell 9%, while at Old Navy that figure dropped 10%.
Gap has said that the problems with the main rump of the business are demanding their full attention. In addition, Forth & Towne was not "demonstrating enough potential" as a long-term investment.
"There's so much to fix in the core business," said a senior analyst with Forrester Research. "I think it would've been a management distraction to keep going with Forth & Towne."
So was it a bad idea – was it badly implemented – was it a sacrifice for the greater good of Gap. I guess we will never know.
You can read more about this in Forbes and Advertising Age. Dick Stroud
Forth & Towne was launched 18 months ago in New York and Chicago. Locations in Houston, Atlanta, Seattle and across California followed over the past year. The chain has 19 locations, and Forth & Towne President Gary Muto once said he planned to have 25 stores by the end of this year.
Gap said it will close its Forth & Towne stores by the end of June.
It is difficult to know what lessons to learn from this venture. Last year sales at Gap stores in North America, open at least a year, fell 9%, while at Old Navy that figure dropped 10%.
Gap has said that the problems with the main rump of the business are demanding their full attention. In addition, Forth & Towne was not "demonstrating enough potential" as a long-term investment.
"There's so much to fix in the core business," said a senior analyst with Forrester Research. "I think it would've been a management distraction to keep going with Forth & Towne."
So was it a bad idea – was it badly implemented – was it a sacrifice for the greater good of Gap. I guess we will never know.
You can read more about this in Forbes and Advertising Age. Dick Stroud
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