Last month, The Observer revealed the The Gap was poised to close one-quarter of its stores in New York. A spokesperson denied this at the time, calling the claim “extremely exaggerated.” But yesterday, the company announced it is actually close one-third of its stores.
Granted that is a national number, not a local one, but it does well mean there will be fewer Gaps in the years ahead. When The Observer reached out to the spokesperson again, and asked if this meant that the 12-15 stores supposedly set to close was actually true, she said no. “My statement still stands,” Louise Callagy wrote in an email.
The retailer is still finding time, and space, to expand abroad, and its stock rose on the news of the consolidation.
