Gap CEO Art Peck has been working tirelessly to energize his brand, seeking to transform customer engagement into brand loyalty.
It was a tough first quarter for Gap, as its sales fell 3%, to $3.66 billion while same-store sales dropped 4%.
But during his May 21 first-quarter earnings conference call, Peck was optimistic about the future.
“On top of managing in season, we’re obviously working extremely hard to make every improvement that we can to the outlying seasons, including holiday and most importantly, spring,” he said, according to Seeking Alpha. “We’re working very hard to change the product processes all of what we’re doing at Old Navy in order to get Gap to a more consistent on-trend, on-brand footing. And I have to say much of the work that the team has done there to realign the team on the aesthetic of the brand is very, very encouraging.”
Relatively speaking, Peck said the men’s business is stronger.
“And it’s not that the women’s business is weak, but we have not hit the stride nor delivered the commercial results, while at the same time, we have established some fashion credibility and that’s our job and we’re focused on making it happen,” Peck explained. “Again, we have a strong women’s business there, but it’s been followed by a pretty strong business inside the rest of the box as well across men’s, kids, and baby. And it’s a thing of beauty when Old Navy is firing on all cylinders and has now for several seasons running. On the flipside, I continue to be disappointed, but not surprised, by Gap’s performance. We have had a women’s business challenge now for several seasons running, I believe we have diagnosed it correctly having to do with being off-brand, in some cases off-trend, and I can promise you that the team is all over it. We are in season every day and we’re managing the business as aggressively as we can to get every penny out of the business.”
Peck added in no uncertain terms: “We’re committed to turning it around.”
Sabrina Simmons, EVP and Chief Financial Officer for Gap, added that the company is focused on taking the steps necessary to drive improvements and greater consistency in its other brands, while continuing to make progress on long-term objectives.