Gap Inc. (San Francisco) opened the doors to its new 34,000-square-foot, multi-level flagship store in New York on Wednesday. The store, in Times Square, reflects the company's new multi-concept format, complete with Gap, Baby Gap, GapKids, Gap women/men and GapBody (for intimate apparel) stores.
After shutting down eight Manhattan stores a few weeks ago, Gap faced some serious image problems. But analysts say the new location could re-boost the retailer's image. “High traffic and tourism at the 'crossroads of the world'will likely increase the Gap's brand recognition,” said Richard Jaffe of UBS Warburg, “and strengthen its powerful marketing campaigns.”
The Gap store in Times Square was first opened in 1999, but closed a year later to be renovated into the new format. Gap is converting many single-concept stores into the larger multi-concept format.
The Gap owns 3740 specialty apparel stores around the globe, of which more than 400 are Banana Republic and approximately 700 are Old Navy stores.