Gap sold $130 million worth of face masks in the last quarter


Here's one pivot that did pay off: Gap's, to face masks.
The company — which owns Gap, Banana Republic, and Old Navy — jumped into selling face masks early in the pandemic, a decision that ultimately brought it a whopping $130 million in sales, CNBC reports based on the company's reported quarterly earnings. Gap Inc.'s sales were both to individuals and in bulk, including to the city of New York and the state of California.
It is a rare retail success story during the time of COVID-19, though Gap's total sales actually fell 18 percent, even as its online sales rose 95 percent. Still, the company earned 3.5 million new customers. Gap's forward thinking was "the ultimate example of how we want to operate as a culture," said chief executive Sonia Syngal during the earnings call.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Maybe they'll get into the patio heater business next?

Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.