Latest news with #RichardDickson
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Gap releases curated vintage collection
This story was originally published on Fashion Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Fashion Dive newsletter. Dive Brief: Gap dropped its third GapVintage collection on Tuesday. The capsule, which was compiled by Gap's vintage curator Sean Wotherspoon, features 148 seasonal pieces. It's the largest drop by the vintage curator since his partnership with the company began in 2023. The collection is available exclusively through Gap's e-commerce website, and prices range from $55 to $90, per a company spokesperson. As of press time, a majority of the pieces were sold. Dive Insight: Gap launched the GapVintage project in February, and teased that it would release multiple collections. It released the second collection in April but didn't specify a timeline for upcoming drops. The new capsule includes denim, T-shirts, shirts, pants, skirts and sweatshirts. When GapVintage was announced, Wotherspoon said the vintage and secondhand market continues to resonate with younger generations, and he was excited to see Gap take curated control of its vintage supply. To that end, GapVintage is among the newly announced categories Gap is focusing on as it works to rebuild its image and cultural relevance. Upon his hiring, CEO Richard Dickson was tasked to lead the charge of reinvigorating the company. Under Dickson, Gap has launched GapStudio, an elevated subbrand designed by Zac Posen, who was recently hired as Gap Inc.'s creative director and executive vice president. Collaborations have been another key part of the strategy. This year, Gap brands have collaborated with Malbon Golf, Dôen and Disney. These efforts have contributed to Gap gaining new customers and maintaining long-time fans. 'We are bridging the generation gap,' Dickson said in an earnings call in May. The Gap brand is showing signs of reaching that consumer relevance, he added. Q1 marked the sixth consecutive quarter of positive comps and eighth quarter of market share gains. 'We are building a consistent brand narrative that we are applying with relentless repetition,' Dickson said. Recommended Reading Gap Inc. braces for as much as $300M in tariff-related costs Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Time Magazine
26-06-2025
- Business
- Time Magazine
TIME100 Most Influential Companies 2025: Gap
Gap has provided a valuable lesson in making old (ish) brands vibrant again under CEO Richard Dickson, who joined in 2023 from Mattel (where he helped revive Barbie) and creative director Zac Posen, who arrived in 2024. The company's brands—including Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy—were flagging for years but have regained buzz and market share, and in March, it reported 2024 operating profits of $1.1 billion, nearly double the previous year. (Though Trump's tariffs may mean trouble ahead, with volatility and significant impact on retailers and global supply chains.) The secret? Named in 1969 to reference the "generation gap," it's now a bridge to multiple generations of consumers, even in the same store, aided by successful influencer collaborations that connect to younger shoppers. "With precision marketing, we can target our Gen Z, Baby Boomers, Gen X and millennials with creativity and assets that appeal to those different generations with the same product, expressed differently," Dickson says. "Our clothes are designed so that you express your own individuality. Khakis are khakis, right? But how you wear the khaki is your individual style."
Bloomberg
26-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Big Take: How Tariffs Threaten Gap's Turnaround
At the start of 2025, Gap was cool again. The legacy American brand had started to turn around sales and rebuild its image. It was in the middle of a splashy ad campaign with the actress Parker Posey. Influencers were posting its clothes online. But then President Trump announced his 'Liberation Day' tariffs. On today's Big Take podcast, Bloomberg reporters Amanda Mull and Lily Meier walk host Sarah Holder through Gap's history, its recent re-invention and the challenges it faces now. Plus, we hear from Richard Dickson himself.
Bloomberg
24-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
ICYMI: Inside Gap's Last-Ditch, Tariff-Addled Turnaround Push
Bloomberg Businessweek Senior Reporter Amanda Mull break down how Gap, the iconic '90s retailer, was on the precipice of death for years. Then CEO Richard Dickson finally had momentum for a comeback— and then came Trump.
Business Insider
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Business Insider
Gap's CEO: We're done bombarding you with promotions
This week, the world's top leaders in advertising and marketing have been on the coast of France at the Cannes Lions festival to talk about all things brand strategy. There, the CEO of an iconic American company took to the mic to discuss why his company is doing less promotions as it tries to revitalize its image and reputation to consumers. Richard Dickson, the chief executive officer of Gap Inc. — which owns its namesake company, plus retailers Banana Republic, Old Navy, and Athleta — was open about the company's past blunders in a conversation with the Wall Street Journal. "This is a brand that, through its narrative, changed culture and/or shaped culture," he said. "Somewhere along the way, we lost the art of that brand-merchant storytelling and became a retailer that sold stuff. So we had to go in and edit." Here's what Dickson said about what the retailer and its subsidiary brands got wrong in the past — and how he's "reinvigorating" them. Dickson joined as CEO in 2023, after more than 20 years at another iconic brand, toymaker Mattel. There, as BI previously reported, he was credited with reviving the Barbie franchise. He came on as Gap had been facing years of underperformance and brand identity issues as other fast fashion retailers gained steam. But the appeal he saw when joining as CEO nearly two years ago, he said, was that "everybody wants Gap to win." "There's not haters out there of Gap. There's, to some extent, what happened? Where did it go? I used to, if you will, shop at Gap," he said. "These are fertile ground ingredients for any marketing/business narrative." Gap has been around for more than 50 years, and had its heyday in late 90s with iconic commercials like the Khaki Swing video, which he cited in the conversation with the Journal. "The brand started and sort of personified itself by celebrating big product ideas into major campaigns that were about what we'll call fashion-tainment," he said. Now, the company is getting back to that. Recent examples include pop singer Troye Sivan's baggy jeans campaign with Gap, plus Banana Republic's recent partnership with actor Patrick Schwarzenegger, who gained popularity in the hit TV show "The White Lotus." But even though the brand is attempting to transform, it won't be spending more on marketing, said Dickson — the focus will be more on what they spend on and how those strategies come across to consumers. "Today, you don't need to spend more, you need to be more effective in the stories that you're trying to tell." Since he joined in 2023, he's also been trying to dial back Gap's infamous and constant "percentage off" promos. "If you had gone into a Gap store a year ago, or Old Navy, you were to some extent bombarded," he said. "It was almost unbelievable to the extent that even internally, we would pull up our sites and I would say, what are we selling?" "When you go into stores and you see a sign on every single fixture, that's not an experience that's gonna be appealing. So our signing system has gotten a lot more refined. Our sites have become a lot more precise." Although their promotional cadence is not changing, the narrative and how they approach them is. "We love promotions. We love exciting the consumer with great price and great value and great style," he said. "But our communication and how we promote is a much more refined and directed narrative." He's said they've already started to see greater consumer resilience and loyalty as a result. "Each brand is in a different stage of what we'll call revitalization," he said about Gap Inc.'s portfolio. "But the formula is the same: cultural relevance, great product, great execution, and great experience."
