NEW YORK — CAN the Gap be saved? The brand that helped lead America into a casual-clothing revolution has been foundering soullessly since the decade began, beset by competition from stores such as Target and H&M, where people buy cheap chic as well as basics, and a denim market that's so saturated, there's no regaining the stronghold Gap once held.
Now Gap has a new head of design -- Patrick Robinson, former artistic director for Paco Rabanne -- and last week the company took the unusual step of presenting Robinson's first full collection during New York Fashion Week. Of course, the Gap has made previous forays into serious fashion, followed by a scurrying retreat to basic khakis and boring sweaters, something Robinson is all too aware of.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Wednesday, February 13, 2008 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 49 words Type of Material: Correction
Gap stock price: An article in Sunday's Image section on the Gap's new head of design, Patrick Robinson, said that Gap Inc.'s stock price was down more than 50% last week, to $18.17. In fact, that 50% drop in the price ranges from early 2000 to Feb. 5, 2008.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Sunday, February 17, 2008 Home Edition Image Part P Page 2 Features Desk 1 inches; 59 words Type of Material: Correction
Gap stock price: A Feb. 10 article on the Gap's new head of design, Patrick Robinson, said that the price of the retailer's stock had fallen more than 50%, to $18.17, the week the story was written. In fact, the stock price had fallen more than 50% from early 2000 to Feb. 5, 2008, when the price was $18.17.
Before the presentation he said that Gap "had been pulled from side to side for different reasons" and suffered from "different leadership and different messages." Brian Tunick, a retail analyst with J.P. Morgan, said the Gap's sheer size (1,278 stores in the U.S. and Canada), and its attempt to be all things to all people didn't help either.
"They became so big while everyone else was becoming so specialized," Tunick said. "And now they're trying to walk away from the teen customer . . . and really go after that 25- to 35-year-old customer, which is what is in the stores right now. Although what's there is very basic, boring and safe."
Keeping those basics, but banishing the boring and safe is what Gap hopes Robinson, who joined the label in May, can do. It is a balancing act that his predecessor from the fashion world -- Pina Ferlisi, formerly with Marc by Marc Jacobs -- wasn't able to achieve: Gap's North American stores saw sales decline in all but two years since fiscal 2000; this year, sales are down 5% from the same period last year. Gap Inc.'s stock price has also suffered, down more than 50% last week to $18.17.
While Robinson's name is familiar in the fashion realm, his track record with the masses is less clear. He is credited with turning around Giorgio Armani's Collezioni line; his work at Perry Ellis was a hit on the runway but not at the cash register; and his tenure at Paco Rabanne was complicated by corporate restructuring, and the house failed to ship his fall-winter collection. Most recently, his Go International collection of women's clothing and accessories for Target languished on the racks.
