It was the summer of 1969: Man took his first walk on the moon. Nearly 450,000 people gathered in upstate New York to witness the historic Woodstock concert. And Doris and Don Fisher opened the first Gap store in San Francisco. Today, Gap Inc. is one of the world's largest specialty retailers, with more than 3,100 stores and fiscal 2006 revenues of $15.9 billion. We operate four of the most recognized apparel brands in the world — Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy and Piperlime. Every day, we look for new ways to connect with customers around the world, provide value to our shareholders and make a positive contribution in the communities where we do business.
Gap Inc. is a brand-builder. We create emotional connections with customers around the world through inspiring product design, unique store experiences and compelling marketing. Our purpose? Simply, to make it easy for you to express your personal style throughout your life. We have more than 150,000 passionate, talented people around the world who help bring this purpose to life for our customers. Across our company and embedded in our culture are key values that guide our success: integrity, respect, open-mindedness, quality and balance. Every day, we honor these values and exemplify our belief in doing business in a socially responsible way.
How Our Clothes Are Made
From a design concept born in New York by our product designers to an in-store display in one of our more than 3,100 stores around the world, each Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy product goes through a multi-stage process before reaching our customers. At any given time, our teams are working on our merchandise assortments, whether that's designing for the holiday season, creating production samples of the summer collection, or merchandising and marketing for the spring assortment. This work generally consists of five phases:
Phase I: Design and Merchandising
Great clothes often begin with a feeling, a vision, a memory ... perhaps a song lyric or a scene from a classic movie. Always looking for fresh ideas, our designers and merchants visit the world's fashion and cultural capitals — New York, Paris, London, Milan and Tokyo, for example — taking in the fashion shows, shopping new stores and observing the everyday fashion of people on the street. Then they translate their ideas into drawings, patterns, swatches and color palettes. Once concepts have been developed, it's time to turn them into real clothes. Our merchants and designers work closely together to translate inspiration into product assortments we believe our customers will want to wear. Working from designers' drawings, our patternmakers create rough sample garments. Samples are then carefully edited into focused product assortments for our brands and our customers
Phase 2: Planning and Sourcing
Once designs are set and an assortment has been chosen, planning and distribution specialists help merchandisers decide how many units of each new style to order and to which stores those units should be sent. A plan is created for each style. Buying plans in hand, it's now time to select the manufacturing facilities that can fulfill our production needs — and comply with our Code of Vendor Conduct. (Learn more about our process for selecting and approving factories.) Buyers work with factory owners to understand every detail of production, from materials, quantity and price to packaging and delivery.
Phase 3: Production and Marketing
The factory makes product samples and, using mannequins and models, we confirm the fit. Once approved, the factory begins production. Now our Marketing team steps in to meet with the merchants and look at factory samples. Based on this preview, the team develops an appropriate marketing plan to communicate the assortment and key products to our customers. Meanwhile, the factory puts the finishing touches on the merchandise, it's tested to ensure it meets regulatory standards and we conduct final quality assurance.
Phase 4: Distribution
All merchandise, samples, plans, fixtures, props and in-store displays are packed, inspected and readied for shipment to our distribution centers. Once the product arrives at the distribution centers, every single box gets checked in. Cartons are counted, quantities are confirmed and random audits are performed. As merchandise is added to inventory, it's designated for delivery to a specific store according to size, color and quantity. The distribution centers then move the merchandise to the appropriate stores.
Phase 5: Sales and Analysis
Every major seasonal delivery requires a brand new floor setup in the stores. Merchandise is placed following the guidelines of our Visual Merchandising team. Finally, our sales associates sell the merchandise to our customers. As each unit is sold, the transaction is registered for analysis by our planners and distribution analysts. These analysts monitor weekly sales trend reports and determine which stores need to be replenished with which products. Replenishment shipments typically occur one to three times per week. At the end of each season, we assess our performance, gather customer feedback, look for improvements and begin the cycle all over again.
2000s: A Decade's Highlights
2000
Oldnavy.com launches.
Gap launches its Gap Maternity collection on gap.com.
2001
Old Navy makes its debut outside the United States, opening 12 stores in Canada.
Banana Republic launches petite sizes online.
2002
Paul Pressler is named Gap Inc. President and CEO. Millard Drexler retires after 19 years of service.
2003
Gap Inc. Founder Don Fisher announces decision to step down as Chairman of the Board.
2004
Bob Fisher is named Gap Inc. Chairman of the Board.
Gap Inc. issues its first Social Responsibility Report.
2005
Gap Inc. relaunches gap.com, BananaRepublic.com and oldnavy.com, offering customers a more convenient and interactive shopping experience.
The first Banana Republic stores in Japan open in Tokyo and Yokohama.
Gapinc.com, Gap Inc.'s corporate website, is honored with a WebAward by the Web Marketing Association.
2006
Gap Inc. launches its first online-only brand, Piperlime, offering a fresh shoe shopping experience.
Gap Inc. expands its global presence with the first Gap and Banana Republic franchise store locations in the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
1990s: A Decade's Highlights
1990
The babyGap line is born, debuting in the GapKids store in San Francisco, Calif.
1992
Gap becomes the second-largest selling apparel brand in the world.
1993
Gap enters France with a "store" within the Galeries Lafayette department store in Paris.
1994
Old Navy opens its first store in Colma, Calif.
Gap Outlet stores open their doors as part of the new Gap Factory Outlet division.
1995
Millard Drexler is named President and CEO of Gap Inc., succeeding founder and Chairman Donald Fisher.
The first Banana Republic store outside the U.S. opens in Canada.
1996
Gap opens its 20,000 square foot flagship store in the Shibuya shopping district in Tokyo.
1997
Old Navy sets a retail record, reaching $1 billion in annual sales in less than four years of operation.
Gap opens its Online Store at gap.com.
Gap Inc. is named "Marketer of the Year" by Advertising Age Magazine.
1998
Gap opens its first store in Alaska, now operating in all 50 states.
Banana Republic surpasses the $1 billion mark in annual sales.
Gap Inc. launches its formal ethics code, the Code of Business Conduct.
1999
BananaRepublic.com launches.
1980s: A Decade's Highlights
1983
Millard ("Mickey") Drexler joins the company as President and COO of the Gap division.
Gap Inc. acquires Banana Republic — then a two-store safari and travel clothing company.
1986
The first GapKids store opens in San Mateo, Calif.
1987
The first Gap store outside the United States opens in London, England, on George Street.
Gap Inc. annual sales reach $1 billion.
1988
Gap introduces its award-winning "Individuals of Style" advertising campaign.
1989
The first Gap store in Canada opens in Vancouver, British Columbia.
1970s: A Decade's Highlights
1970
Sales reach $2 million. Gap's second store opens in San Jose, Calif.
1974
Gap's "Fall into the Gap" advertising campaign debuts.
1976
Gap goes public, offering 1.2 million shares of stock on the New York and Pacific Stock Exchanges.
1977
Gap Foundation — Gap Inc.'s nonprofit charitable arm — is established.
The Beginning
1969
Founders Doris and Don Fisher open the first Gap store in San Francisco, Calif.
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