Gap to close 220 stores, focus on outlets and e-commerce

Gap Inc. announced on Thursday it plans on closing 30 percent of its Gap and Banana Republic stores in North America over the next three years in order to focus on outlet stores and e-commerce.

This will affect 220 Gap and 130 Banana Republic stores. The Gap has been a mall mainstay, but that's no longer working, the company said, and after the closures 80 percent of the remaining stores will be outside of traditional malls. "We've been overly reliant on low-productivity, high-rent stores," Gap CEO Mark Breitbard said. "We've used the past six months to address the real estate issues and accelerate our shift to a true omni-model."

Two other Gap Inc. brands, Old Navy and Athleta, are doing well, and there are plans for both to grow over the next three years. Old Navy has 1,200 stores, and last year brought in $8 billion in sales; that number is expected to increase to $10 billion annually by early 2024. Athleta now has 200 U.S. locations, and the goal is to have about 300 by 2024.

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