The Rise & Fall & Rise of GAP
A brief history & some data on the largest specialty retailer in the U.S.
What happens when once-cool retailers are too slow to adopt technology & e-commerce? What do they do to survive? Luckily, we don’t have to wonder. The world has been watching the U.S.’ largest specialty retailer rise & fall, and try to stabilize, throughout the past thirty years: GAP.
Founded in 1969, GAP’s focus was on “simple” fashion, and started by selling solely Levi’s jeans and some records. Very hipster. A reference to the “generation gap”, GAP quickly gained popularity across the U.S., opening 25 stores nationwide in its first four years and bringing in nearly $15 million in annual sales (equivalent to $85 million today).
Throughout the 1970s and 80s, GAP was cool and business was booming. In 1976, the company went public with 1.2 million shares priced at $18 each.
In the late 1970s, however, following the creation of the shuttleless loom, denim quality and production increased in price, and denim trading overseas became more expensive. Denim prices were pushed upwards and demand began to decline. So, GAP moved its denim production in-house with a new label, “Gap Fashion Pioneers”, and eventually strayed from selling Levi’s. Denim, now, was GAP’s game.
