Gap: sales fall by 9% in November

By

Matthieu Guinebault

Published
Dec 4, 2015

The last quarter got off to a bad start for Gap. The US group's sales figures recorded a 9% decline in November (8% at constant exchange rates), reaching $1.57 billion. A year earlier in the same period, the group posted a 6% growth. And, this time, even Old Navy experienced a major decrease in revenue.
 

The Gap brand posted a 4% decline in sales, the same decrease as that of November 2014. Banana Republic’s sales plummeted by 19%, a far cry from the 2% rise recorded last year. Old Navy usually helps the group steady its course, but this time it followed the trend with a 9% fall, when a year earlier the brand had recorded an 18% rise.
 
"With the festive season upon us, our teams remain focused on solid execution and on delivering a convincing customer experience through our brands," was all that Sabrina Simmons, Gap Inc.'s CFO, had to say.

In the fiscal year closed at the end of January, Gap Inc. generated total sales for €14.5 billion. This was equivalent to a 5% rise, made possible by Old Navy. The Gap retail brand announced in June its intention to close down a quarter of its stores in North America over the course of the next few years (140 will close down this year), and to dismiss about 250 staff at the group's headquarters.