Dive Brief:
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San Francisco-based Gap Inc. said Thursday that Jeff Kirwan, who’s led Gap’s Chinese expansion, will become president of Gap Global in December, replacing Stephen Sunnucks. Andi Owen, now heading the Gap outlets division, will be Banana Republic president in January, replacing Jack Calhoun.
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Gap digital chief Art Peck, who takes over in February as CEO from Glenn Murphy, announced the changes.
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Gap also said Thursday that Q3 same-store sales at Gap dropped 5% and remained the same at Banana Republic. Overall Q3 same-store sales fell 2%, which analysts had expected, but the retail company missed revenue expectations of $4.04 billion with $3.97 billion in revenue.
Dive Insight:
Gap has been struggling to turn things around, at least at its flagship brand and Banana Republic; lower-priced Old Navy is doing better. For many, the San Francisco-based retailer has lost its fashion sense, and despite some effort in recent years it has yet to find it again.
That's left the door open to competitors like Uniqlo, which have overtaken its role as a retailer of fashion basics and is less expensive, and H&M, which can also beat it on price.
