The Decline of The Gap...What Happened?

I believe the brand has lost base with its core identity. My impression was that GAP was supposed to be this minimalist cool brand, with high quality basics in neutral tones. But then you go to the store and you see cheap clothes with tacky logos. It’s just dated.

If they stopped putting GAP across all of their shirts, sales would go up

Man, if Old Navy is supposed to be the affordable brand, I now understand why Gap is struggling.

I worked for Old Navy, one of their biggest issues is that they overproduce clothing they've shifted more towards fast fashion but kept the same price structure. So the quality is down but the prices are the same. Most of the customers rely on shopping the clearance section, so they lose money.

Their clothes are just boring as hell. Nobody wants to dress like they’re a cast member of Friends

I think the main reason is people stopped falling for paying almost $100 for some pants.

a lot of companies like gap need to figure out that people don't care about brands and logos on their clothes anymore 💀 nobody cares if u have a shirt that says gap on it or a shirt that has the hollister logo on it, and, in fact, many people would rather have no logos on their clothes at all

I was a senior in high school in 96 and the Gap was considered preppy clothes. It was cool to have GAP clothes in the late 90s by preppy, jock type teens, its just how it was. As I aged the problem I had was, I felt they never changed and to be honest as I got older and a wiser shopper I thought they were not worth the prices. I walked into a Gap this year as a 42 y.o. man and I pretty much walked right back out. Lol

"Most of you don't wear the same clothes you wore in high school" Sure. Let's go with that.

H&M, Zara, UNIQLO and athleisure happened. Gap is also just too expensive for what they sell.

My sister worked for The Gap back around 2000 when we were in 10th grade and I could tell you why they began declining. When they used to get store deliveries, her and the manager Amy noticed that some of the clothing was coming in straight from the factory out in Asia kinda filthy and some stank to high heaven. I think their cloths were made in Taiwan at the time.They had to take them to the dry cleaners before putting them on store shelves for the customers. Some they couldn’t dry clean and it was sent back to the factory. This went on for a while until news broke that the particular factory that The Gap used mistreated their workers and the factory also had urine and shit all over the floors-it was filthy in that particular factory. They were making the clothing in this filth and on occasion dropping some of the cloths on the floors accidentally, and then shipping them out to stores. When we found out WTF was going on, I NEVER stepped foot into a Gap store EVER! I’m not going to wear a pissy/shitty shirt that had to be dry cleaned to cover up the horrendous conditions the shirt was brought to the store and where they allowed the workers at the factory to be treated like shit while making those clothing items. A lot of people stopped shopping there when that news story broke-nobody trusts them anymore.

We had a GAP in the mall when I was in the 3rd grade and when me and my friends went to the mall we would sooner go into Sears than in the GAP. It was just too expensive. Plus Sears was my favorite store even though it was old and sad looking. I just loved looking at all the tools

Remember when every kid in Elementary owned a GAP hoodie

They're way too overpriced. Even for NYC. $50 for some basic ass beige chinos.

I grew up loving The Gap and I still do but only shop when there’s a big sale because I agree $70 is a lot for jeans from The Gap. I like Banana because it gives me a lot of options for work or church but both of their prices are so high that I tend to look at other stores too

I was forced by my aunt to go to the gap and old navy when I was a kid. She would pick out outfits for me that were so dorky and I hated them, so I’ve always had a particular disdain for the two stores.

So hard to hear someone say "the 90's were before my time" Damnit, now I feel old... next episode "The decline of ...me"

The quality of the clothing doesn’t correspond with the price.

Baby Gap was amazing. Beautiful, thick pea coats, warm sweaters, blankets, and big fluffy hats that far exceeded the quality of other brands. I love Baby Gap👼🏽

So...I actually paid for college, back in the 90's, by working at the GAP! Store #780 in Scarsdale, New York. What made that store, and the company, so special was that it sold product that folks actually wanted to purchase. Namely, basic clothing that was tasteful, versatile, and affordable! Some time after I graduated from college (late 90's), the company changed it's focus and started selling all this multi-colored and skinny jean crap that no one really wanted to buy and, as was stated in the video, their more mature customers wouldn't dream of buying (for themselves or their family members). I can't tell you how many of my repeat customers from back in the day would come in to buy something for a family member and later start shopping for themselves (with our help, of course). I also remember how the company had acquired such a name and reputation that it was cool to even be seen carrying a GAP bag (even if you didn't have GAP clothes in it). These days, walking into a GAP store is a sad experience! Also, getting rid of Mickey Drexler was a huge mistake! He had a terrific read on the company's customer base and believed in keeping things simple, yet classy, and at a reasonable price point! As a now fully middle-aged man, I'm not interested in buying a pair of skinny jeans or khakis. I'd still like to be able to purchase, however, some of the very simple, yet classy types of shirts, pants, and accessories that were sold back in the 90's. Yeah...this might make me sound a bit old (and, admittedly, I am...), but the simple fact of the matter is that I've got disposable income and won't spend it at retailers that don't cater to my tastes (or needs). This is the reason GAP has and will likely continue to struggle in years to come. You can truly only serve one master well. The current team of executives need to figure out that 90's formula for success, return to it, and watch their profits slowly return over time. Just my eight cents on the matter...