The American multinational clothing and accessories retailer Gap Inc. is set to open its first-ever Old Navy outlet in Shenzhen, a city located in the south of Southern China’s Guangdong Province, on November 8, 2014.
In a bid to tap in one of the world’s fastest growing markets, the Greater China region, the company has announced that it will expand the subsidiary division’s footprint faster than originally planned in mainland China, with its first locations in southern and northern China.
With plans to open some seven new Old Navy stores in five major Chinese cities in less than a year’s time, the purveyor aims to extend its reach even further with plans to open another in Beijing in December, 2014.
Jeff Kirwan, the president of Greater China for Gap Inc., states, “We continue to be excited by the response of Chinese customers to our brands. Both Gap and Old Navy have been warmly embraced, giving us confidence to continue our expansion in this vibrant region.”
According to a press statement, the Californian retailer has surpassed the mark of 100 Gap branded outlets across mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan since the debut of its first store launch in 2010.
Apart from its aggressive expansion strategy in China, the firm also has plans to expand in Taiwan. It is prepping up to open the fifth store, since the launch of its first one in March, 2014, in Hsinchu sometime in late November this year.
In addition to the fast growing brick-and-mortar business, the company has also seen strong growth in ecommerce and continues to push the boundaries between the physical and digital channels, exploring the use of interactive displays that extend customers’ access to its product both in and out of store.
“We want to lead the way in bringing omni-channel to life in China. It’s early days yet, but with the addition of virtual experiences both in our Gap stores and in other non-traditional locations, we hope to offer more points of access to our Chinese customer so she can shop our brands wherever, whenever and however she wants,” says Kirwan.
Gap Inc. opened its first namesake stores in November 2010 in Shanghai and Beijing along with simultaneous launch of a dedicated ecommerce site. Gap brand is now in 25 cities in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan with three dedicated ecommerce sites (www.gap.cn, www.gap.hk, www.gap.tw) and a storefront on Tmall. The company launched its first Old Navy store and ecommerce site (www.oldnavy.cn) simultaneously in March this year, and already has five stores in three cities, as well as a shop on Tmall.
Owning brands like Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Piperlime, Athleta and Intermix, Gap Inc. products are sold in more than 90 countries worldwide through about 3,200 company-operated stores, almost 400 franchise stores, and e-commerce sites. Thecompany’s Fiscal year 2013 net sales were $16.1 billion. (PB)
