Gap Inc.: fiscal year starts in the red

By

Matthieu Guinebault

Published
Mar 4, 2016

In February 2016, the first month of the new fiscal year, the Gap group recorded a 3.3% decrease in sales, down to $888 million. The shortfall was 2% at constant exchange rates, in a period when, for once, it was only Banana Republic that dragged down the figures. 

The Gap retail brand in fact recorded stable sales in the period in question, a stability that must be compared to the 7% decline recorded a year earlier. Old Navy, which for a long time was the only brand featuring a revenue increase, also recorded stable sales, in the same fashion as in February 2015. However, Banana Republic fell by 11%, having already decreased by 5% a year earlier.

In the fiscal year closed at the end of January, Gap Inc. generated $15.81 billion (€14.12 billion) in sales. Even Old Navy, previously playing the role of the group's lifebuoy, did not manage to save the day. The result led to a 6.25% downturn in sales, for an organisation which now operates 3,794 stores.