Case study for GAP in terms of marketing.

I. Executive Summary.

Founded in 1969, GAP is a leading international specialty retailer offering clothing, accessories and personal care products for men, women, children and babies Although sales were skyrocketing in the early 1990's, GAP suffered drastically in the beginning 21st century. Sales plummeted, stocks were sold and GAP lost a large quantity of their original customers. This was due to their shift from basic and classic products to new and trendy products. They are now struggling to win back these customers. The recent trends in clothing have been a focus on comfortable, multi-functional, mix-and-match, fashionable clothing, such as the clothing that GAP provides. They cannot afford to lose their customers to such competitors as American Eagle Outfitters and Jacob and must rely on their strengths such as their advertisements, their unified image, and strong reputation. Some recommendations to pull GAP out of this slump include focusing on the new customers that were brought in, closing their unprofitable stores, or winning back their original customers while retaining their new customers.

English: The image of Abercrombie & Fitch today.

English: American Eagle Outfitters store, Green Oa...

Español: American Eagle Outfitters

II. Analysis

External:

Political, Economic, Social, Technical: (See Appendix A)

There has been a surge in political attention over the use of sweat shops, as well as higher levels of public awareness and activism in this issue. GAP's history with sweat shops will have a negative impact on their reputation. As a result, GAP has set up its own foundation and is pushing to do more charity work. The Canadian economy is currently in a recession which leads to less shopping for clothing. GAP has an advantage here because their clothing has a high durability and their line provides the basics that customers are looking for at this time. The recent trends in clothing have been a focus on comfortable, multi-functional, mix-and-match, fashionable clothing, such as the clothing that GAP...