Closing the Gap: Retailer Will Shutter 1-in-4 Stores in New York City
For decades, the Gap represented the sort of blasé casualness most Americans brought to their fashion. From men’s closets stuffed with baggy khaki cargos to high school girls repurposing those iconic navy-and-white shopping bags as backpacks, the Gap was America’s premier clothier. Even in fashion-forward New York, the company managed to open a few dozen stores.
Now, with changing tastes and intense competition from cheap-chic rivals like H&M and Uniqlo, the world’s second largest clothing retailer plans to shutter roughly a quarter of its stores in New York City. According to a real estate executive with knowledge of the plans, between 12 and 15 stores will close in the next few years, a consolidation that will greatly reduce the 35 Gap stores and 17 Banana Republics in the five boroughs. Read More
