Gap hires new design chief

American apparel retailer Gap has appointed Wendi Goldman executive vice president of Gap's product design and development team, a month after it eliminated the role of brand creative director.

Goldman will lead the company's global design team, while working closely with merchandising, product operations, and customer experience.

The company says its nomination of the new design chief for Gap is only the latest move in its efforts to revive the brand whose popularity has waned in recent years as shoppers favor fast-fashion brands such as Zara and Forever 21.

"I made a very quick change with senior leadership ... We were not seeing the performance improvement in the (Gap) business that we needed to see," Chief Executive Art Peck said on his first conference call as CEO of the company.

Goldman is no stranger to Gap Inc., having served as senior director of product development as Banana Republic for 8 years. She has also previously worked at Victoria's Secret maker L Brands Inc as co-president and most recently at the now defunct C. Wonder.

Monica Karski with Reuters

Gap hires new design chief

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