Gap Channels Best Quarter With Banana Republic’s Mad Men: Retail
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Clothing based on the 1960s “Mad
Men” styles of Don Draper and Peggy Olson helped Banana
Republic post its best first-quarter sales ever this year.
Now the Gap Inc. (GPS) brand is teaming up with a name designer -
- California’s Trina Turk — in an attempt to keep the nascent
turnaround going.
Banana Republic’s North American same-store sales rose 5
percent in the three months ended April 28, the most in two
years, while total revenue at the unit rose 7.4 percent to a
first-quarter best of $622 million, according to Gap’s website.
The performance shows that San Francisco-based Gap’s
upscale brand may have achieved the right mix of professional
and casual apparel. The “Mad Men” line, created with Emmy
Award-winning costume designer Janie Bryant, and the Trina Turk
clothes are Banana Republic’s first collections with outside
designers. The idea is to reach new customers and sell
exclusive, limited-run products at full-price.
“Both of these are great co-branding opportunities,”
Jennifer Davis, an analyst at Lazard Capital Markets in New
York, said in an interview. “Trina Turk and ‘Mad Men’ are
brand-appropriate for Banana Republic. It’s smart, their
customer relates to it.”
Banana Republic’s rebound buttresses turnarounds at the Old
Navy and Gap brands in the U.S., helping drive a 40 percent-plus
rally in the shares this year. Earlier this month, Gap reached a
more than 10-year high of $29.14.
The new collaborations are part of Banana Republic’s effort
to spice up its offerings while maintaining its more standard
basics, and something the company is interested in continuing
with other partners, Simon Kneen, the division’s creative
director, said in an interview in his New York office.
Opposites Attract
“It’s not about bringing things in just to change what we
do, it’s actually to enhance and make our own brand feel
stronger,” Kneen said. Trina Turk is “almost in a sense the
opposite of us a little bit because she’s so much fun. She’s so
much more color than we’d ever be, so much more print than we’d
ever be, so it’s great to actually work with something that’s
very different from who we are.”
Turk, who has her own boutiques and shopping website, is
best known for her colorful printed women’s apparel. Nordstrom
Inc. and Neiman Marcus Group Inc. are among stores that sell her
merchandise, ranging from $338 Henna print strapless dresses to
$174 shell print bikinis. The collection will be introduced on
June 7 with a pre-sale on Gilt Groupe Inc.’s website, and
includes swimwear, towels and dresses.
Cool Factor
While Banana Republic’s sales have yet to return to the
$2.72 billion generated in the fiscal year ended Feb. 2, 2008,
they’ve recovered from the dip to $2.46 billion two years after
that, when the unit offered too much workwear and lost, in Chief
Executive Officer Glenn Murphy’s words, “the cool factor, that
edgy factor, those special products that Banana Republic is
known for.”
In the past year, Gap has boosted the brand’s marketing
budget and started opening company-operated and franchise
locations overseas, including a store on the Avenue des Champs
Elysees, Paris’s most famous shopping street, a vote of
confidence that the brand is regaining styles that Murphy says
“redefined work” a decade ago.
Gap acquired Banana Republic in 1983 with two stores, when
it was a purveyor of safari-themed goods, largely via mail-order
catalogs. The brand gained popularity as the dot-com boom of the
late 1990s propelled the rise of business-casual apparel. Banana
Republic rode that wave by adopting a mix of casual and work-
appropriate men’s and women’s clothing from pencil skirts to
blazers to cashmere sweaters, targeting fashion-conscious
affluent urban professionals.
Lifestyle Brand
Sales were so robust through the 90s that Banana Republic
began to see itself as more of an upscale lifestyle brand, and
started selling silverware, linens and other home fashion items,
a plan that didn’t work out, Richard Jaffe, an analyst at Stifel
Nicolaus Co. in New York, said in a telephone interview.
Still, Jaffe says, Banana Republic never lost its niche as a
more sophisticated and expensive division of Gap.
In the months leading up to the recession, Banana Republic
endured a management shakeup, which put pressure on the brand
just as consumers cut back on spending. Meanwhile, the clothes
were no longer connecting with core female customers.
At an investor meeting in October 2009, Marni Shapiro, an
analyst at Retail Tracker LLC, told management the assortment at
Banana Republic was “killing” her. Shapiro asked how the
retailer planned to win back once-loyal consumers like herself
if it insisted on selling sweaters “appropriate for a 65-, 70-
year-old mother,” as well as unappealing colors and fits. The
brand needed to “work again,” especially amid stiffer
competition, she said.
Resurgent J. Crew
Increasingly, that competition has included department
stores such as Macy’s Inc. (M) and Nordstrom and a resurgent J.Crew
Group Inc., led by former Gap CEO Mickey Drexler.
In the past two years, Banana Republic has started
promoting so-called versatile apparel — such as dresses that
can be worn to work then out with friends, or “desk to
dinner,” as Julie Rosen, head of merchandising for the unit,
called it at Gap’s October investor meeting. It’s also ramping
up its line of men’s suits, which have sold more briskly than
women’s office wear.
“You focus on what you do well rather than the things that
were distracting you a lot and I think that’s really what we’re
doing now with the collection,” Kneen said. “Versatility,
that’s at the heart of what we do.”
Banana Republic remains “a work in progress,” and the
brand could offer more casual apparel to better compete with
J.Crew or Ann Taylor, Lazard’s Davis says.
Jaffe says the brand has successfully refocused on
workwear.
“Mad Men has worked. The smart casual look they offer
today has fallen into favor,” Jaffe said, citing the success of
its women’s dresses. “Banana’s in the right place at the right
time. It’s a good brand, a good product mix, well-focused with
an opportunity to expand online and internationally.”
To contact the reporter on this story:
Sapna Maheshwari in New York at
[email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Robin Ajello at
[email protected]
Gap Channels Best Quarter With Banana Republic’s Mad Men
Banana Republic via Bloomberg
Models wearing Gap Inc.’s Banana Republic “Mad Men” collection pose for a photograph in a handout publicity shot.
Models wearing Gap Inc.’s Banana Republic “Mad Men” collection pose for a photograph in a handout publicity shot. Source: Banana Republic via Bloomberg
Gap Channels Best Quarter With Banana Republic’s Mad Men
Banana Republic via Bloomberg
A model wearing an outfit designed by Trina Turk for Gap Inc.’s Banana Republic poses for a photograph in a handout publicity shot.
A model wearing an outfit designed by Trina Turk for Gap Inc.’s Banana Republic poses for a photograph in a handout publicity shot. Source: Banana Republic via Bloomberg
Gap Channels Best Quarter With Banana Republic’s Mad Men
Banana Republic via Bloomberg
A model wearing a dress designed by Trina Turk for Gap Inc.’s Banana Republic poses for a photograph in this handout publicity shot.
A model wearing a dress designed by Trina Turk for Gap Inc.’s Banana Republic poses for a photograph in this handout publicity shot. Source: Banana Republic via Bloomberg
Gap Channels Best Quarter With Banana Republic’s Mad Men
Banana Republic via Bloomberg
Gap Inc.’s Banana Republic advertisement shows a model wearing a dress from the “Mad Men” collection.
Gap Inc.’s Banana Republic advertisement shows a model wearing a dress from the “Mad Men” collection. Source: Banana Republic via Bloomberg
Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.
Article source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-29/gap-channels-best-quarter-with-banana-republic-s-mad-men-retail.html
Gap Channels Best Quarter With Banana Republic’s Mad Men: Retail
You need to enable Javascript to play media on Bloomberg.com
Clothing based on the 1960s “Mad
Men” styles of Don Draper and Peggy Olson helped Banana
Republic post its best first-quarter sales ever this year.
Now the Gap Inc. (GPS) brand is teaming up with a name designer -
- California’s Trina Turk — in an attempt to keep the nascent
turnaround going.
Banana Republic’s North American same-store sales rose 5
percent in the three months ended April 28, the most in two
years, while total revenue at the unit rose 7.4 percent to a
first-quarter best of $622 million, according to Gap’s website.
The performance shows that San Francisco-based Gap’s
upscale brand may have achieved the right mix of professional
and casual apparel. The “Mad Men” line, created with Emmy
Award-winning costume designer Janie Bryant, and the Trina Turk
clothes are Banana Republic’s first collections with outside
designers. The idea is to reach new customers and sell
exclusive, limited-run products at full-price.
“Both of these are great co-branding opportunities,”
Jennifer Davis, an analyst at Lazard Capital Markets in New
York, said in an interview. “Trina Turk and ‘Mad Men’ are
brand-appropriate for Banana Republic. It’s smart, their
customer relates to it.”
Banana Republic’s rebound buttresses turnarounds at the Old
Navy and Gap brands in the U.S., helping drive a 40 percent-plus
rally in the shares this year. Earlier this month, Gap reached a
more than 10-year high of $29.14.
The new collaborations are part of Banana Republic’s effort
to spice up its offerings while maintaining its more standard
basics, and something the company is interested in continuing
with other partners, Simon Kneen, the division’s creative
director, said in an interview in his New York office.
Opposites Attract
“It’s not about bringing things in just to change what we
do, it’s actually to enhance and make our own brand feel
stronger,” Kneen said. Trina Turk is “almost in a sense the
opposite of us a little bit because she’s so much fun. She’s so
much more color than we’d ever be, so much more print than we’d
ever be, so it’s great to actually work with something that’s
very different from who we are.”
Turk, who has her own boutiques and shopping website, is
best known for her colorful printed women’s apparel. Nordstrom
Inc. and Neiman Marcus Group Inc. are among stores that sell her
merchandise, ranging from $338 Henna print strapless dresses to
$174 shell print bikinis. The collection will be introduced on
June 7 with a pre-sale on Gilt Groupe Inc.’s website, and
includes swimwear, towels and dresses.
Cool Factor
While Banana Republic’s sales have yet to return to the
$2.72 billion generated in the fiscal year ended Feb. 2, 2008,
they’ve recovered from the dip to $2.46 billion two years after
that, when the unit offered too much workwear and lost, in Chief
Executive Officer Glenn Murphy’s words, “the cool factor, that
edgy factor, those special products that Banana Republic is
known for.”
In the past year, Gap has boosted the brand’s marketing
budget and started opening company-operated and franchise
locations overseas, including a store on the Avenue des Champs
Elysees, Paris’s most famous shopping street, a vote of
confidence that the brand is regaining styles that Murphy says
“redefined work” a decade ago.
Gap acquired Banana Republic in 1983 with two stores, when
it was a purveyor of safari-themed goods, largely via mail-order
catalogs. The brand gained popularity as the dot-com boom of the
late 1990s propelled the rise of business-casual apparel. Banana
Republic rode that wave by adopting a mix of casual and work-
appropriate men’s and women’s clothing from pencil skirts to
blazers to cashmere sweaters, targeting fashion-conscious
affluent urban professionals.
Lifestyle Brand
Sales were so robust through the 90s that Banana Republic
began to see itself as more of an upscale lifestyle brand, and
started selling silverware, linens and other home fashion items,
a plan that didn’t work out, Richard Jaffe, an analyst at Stifel
Nicolaus Co. in New York, said in a telephone interview.
Still, Jaffe says, Banana Republic never lost its niche as a
more sophisticated and expensive division of Gap.
In the months leading up to the recession, Banana Republic
endured a management shakeup, which put pressure on the brand
just as consumers cut back on spending. Meanwhile, the clothes
were no longer connecting with core female customers.
At an investor meeting in October 2009, Marni Shapiro, an
analyst at Retail Tracker LLC, told management the assortment at
Banana Republic was “killing” her. Shapiro asked how the
retailer planned to win back once-loyal consumers like herself
if it insisted on selling sweaters “appropriate for a 65-, 70-
year-old mother,” as well as unappealing colors and fits. The
brand needed to “work again,” especially amid stiffer
competition, she said.
Resurgent J. Crew
Increasingly, that competition has included department
stores such as Macy’s Inc. (M) and Nordstrom and a resurgent J.Crew
Group Inc., led by former Gap CEO Mickey Drexler.
In the past two years, Banana Republic has started
promoting so-called versatile apparel — such as dresses that
can be worn to work then out with friends, or “desk to
dinner,” as Julie Rosen, head of merchandising for the unit,
called it at Gap’s October investor meeting. It’s also ramping
up its line of men’s suits, which have sold more briskly than
women’s office wear.
“You focus on what you do well rather than the things that
were distracting you a lot and I think that’s really what we’re
doing now with the collection,” Kneen said. “Versatility,
that’s at the heart of what we do.”
Banana Republic remains “a work in progress,” and the
brand could offer more casual apparel to better compete with
J.Crew or Ann Taylor, Lazard’s Davis says.
Jaffe says the brand has successfully refocused on
workwear.
“Mad Men has worked. The smart casual look they offer
today has fallen into favor,” Jaffe said, citing the success of
its women’s dresses. “Banana’s in the right place at the right
time. It’s a good brand, a good product mix, well-focused with
an opportunity to expand online and internationally.”
To contact the reporter on this story:
Sapna Maheshwari in New York at
[email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Robin Ajello at
[email protected]
Gap Channels Best Quarter With Banana Republic’s Mad Men
Banana Republic via Bloomberg
Models wearing Gap Inc.’s Banana Republic “Mad Men” collection pose for a photograph in a handout publicity shot.
Models wearing Gap Inc.’s Banana Republic “Mad Men” collection pose for a photograph in a handout publicity shot. Source: Banana Republic via Bloomberg
Gap Channels Best Quarter With Banana Republic’s Mad Men
Banana Republic via Bloomberg
A model wearing an outfit designed by Trina Turk for Gap Inc.’s Banana Republic poses for a photograph in a handout publicity shot.
A model wearing an outfit designed by Trina Turk for Gap Inc.’s Banana Republic poses for a photograph in a handout publicity shot. Source: Banana Republic via Bloomberg
Gap Channels Best Quarter With Banana Republic’s Mad Men
Banana Republic via Bloomberg
A model wearing a dress designed by Trina Turk for Gap Inc.’s Banana Republic poses for a photograph in this handout publicity shot.
A model wearing a dress designed by Trina Turk for Gap Inc.’s Banana Republic poses for a photograph in this handout publicity shot. Source: Banana Republic via Bloomberg
Gap Channels Best Quarter With Banana Republic’s Mad Men
Banana Republic via Bloomberg
Gap Inc.’s Banana Republic advertisement shows a model wearing a dress from the “Mad Men” collection.
Gap Inc.’s Banana Republic advertisement shows a model wearing a dress from the “Mad Men” collection. Source: Banana Republic via Bloomberg
Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.
Article source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-29/gap-channels-best-quarter-with-banana-republic-s-mad-men-retail.html
Gap Channels Best Quarter With Banana Republic’s Mad Men: Retail
You need to enable Javascript to play media on Bloomberg.com
Clothing based on the 1960s “Mad
Men” styles of Don Draper and Peggy Olson helped Banana
Republic post its best first-quarter sales ever this year.
Now the Gap Inc. (GPS) brand is teaming up with a name designer -
- California’s Trina Turk — in an attempt to keep the nascent
turnaround going.
Banana Republic’s North American same-store sales rose 5
percent in the three months ended April 28, the most in two
years, while total revenue at the unit rose 7.4 percent to a
first-quarter best of $622 million, according to Gap’s website.
The performance shows that San Francisco-based Gap’s
upscale brand may have achieved the right mix of professional
and casual apparel. The “Mad Men” line, created with Emmy
Award-winning costume designer Janie Bryant, and the Trina Turk
clothes are Banana Republic’s first collections with outside
designers. The idea is to reach new customers and sell
exclusive, limited-run products at full-price.
“Both of these are great co-branding opportunities,”
Jennifer Davis, an analyst at Lazard Capital Markets in New
York, said in an interview. “Trina Turk and ‘Mad Men’ are
brand-appropriate for Banana Republic. It’s smart, their
customer relates to it.”
Banana Republic’s rebound buttresses turnarounds at the Old
Navy and Gap brands in the U.S., helping drive a 40 percent-plus
rally in the shares this year. Earlier this month, Gap reached a
more than 10-year high of $29.14.
The new collaborations are part of Banana Republic’s effort
to spice up its offerings while maintaining its more standard
basics, and something the company is interested in continuing
with other partners, Simon Kneen, the division’s creative
director, said in an interview in his New York office.
Opposites Attract
“It’s not about bringing things in just to change what we
do, it’s actually to enhance and make our own brand feel
stronger,” Kneen said. Trina Turk is “almost in a sense the
opposite of us a little bit because she’s so much fun. She’s so
much more color than we’d ever be, so much more print than we’d
ever be, so it’s great to actually work with something that’s
very different from who we are.”
Turk, who has her own boutiques and shopping website, is
best known for her colorful printed women’s apparel. Nordstrom
Inc. and Neiman Marcus Group Inc. are among stores that sell her
merchandise, ranging from $338 Henna print strapless dresses to
$174 shell print bikinis. The collection will be introduced on
June 7 with a pre-sale on Gilt Groupe Inc.’s website, and
includes swimwear, towels and dresses.
Cool Factor
While Banana Republic’s sales have yet to return to the
$2.72 billion generated in the fiscal year ended Feb. 2, 2008,
they’ve recovered from the dip to $2.46 billion two years after
that, when the unit offered too much workwear and lost, in Chief
Executive Officer Glenn Murphy’s words, “the cool factor, that
edgy factor, those special products that Banana Republic is
known for.”
In the past year, Gap has boosted the brand’s marketing
budget and started opening company-operated and franchise
locations overseas, including a store on the Avenue des Champs
Elysees, Paris’s most famous shopping street, a vote of
confidence that the brand is regaining styles that Murphy says
“redefined work” a decade ago.
Gap acquired Banana Republic in 1983 with two stores, when
it was a purveyor of safari-themed goods, largely via mail-order
catalogs. The brand gained popularity as the dot-com boom of the
late 1990s propelled the rise of business-casual apparel. Banana
Republic rode that wave by adopting a mix of casual and work-
appropriate men’s and women’s clothing from pencil skirts to
blazers to cashmere sweaters, targeting fashion-conscious
affluent urban professionals.
Lifestyle Brand
Sales were so robust through the 90s that Banana Republic
began to see itself as more of an upscale lifestyle brand, and
started selling silverware, linens and other home fashion items,
a plan that didn’t work out, Richard Jaffe, an analyst at Stifel
Nicolaus Co. in New York, said in a telephone interview.
Still, Jaffe says, Banana Republic never lost its niche as a
more sophisticated and expensive division of Gap.
In the months leading up to the recession, Banana Republic
endured a management shakeup, which put pressure on the brand
just as consumers cut back on spending. Meanwhile, the clothes
were no longer connecting with core female customers.
At an investor meeting in October 2009, Marni Shapiro, an
analyst at Retail Tracker LLC, told management the assortment at
Banana Republic was “killing” her. Shapiro asked how the
retailer planned to win back once-loyal consumers like herself
if it insisted on selling sweaters “appropriate for a 65-, 70-
year-old mother,” as well as unappealing colors and fits. The
brand needed to “work again,” especially amid stiffer
competition, she said.
Resurgent J. Crew
Increasingly, that competition has included department
stores such as Macy’s Inc. (M) and Nordstrom and a resurgent J.Crew
Group Inc., led by former Gap CEO Mickey Drexler.
In the past two years, Banana Republic has started
promoting so-called versatile apparel — such as dresses that
can be worn to work then out with friends, or “desk to
dinner,” as Julie Rosen, head of merchandising for the unit,
called it at Gap’s October investor meeting. It’s also ramping
up its line of men’s suits, which have sold more briskly than
women’s office wear.
“You focus on what you do well rather than the things that
were distracting you a lot and I think that’s really what we’re
doing now with the collection,” Kneen said. “Versatility,
that’s at the heart of what we do.”
Banana Republic remains “a work in progress,” and the
brand could offer more casual apparel to better compete with
J.Crew or Ann Taylor, Lazard’s Davis says.
Jaffe says the brand has successfully refocused on
workwear.
“Mad Men has worked. The smart casual look they offer
today has fallen into favor,” Jaffe said, citing the success of
its women’s dresses. “Banana’s in the right place at the right
time. It’s a good brand, a good product mix, well-focused with
an opportunity to expand online and internationally.”
To contact the reporter on this story:
Sapna Maheshwari in New York at
[email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Robin Ajello at
[email protected]
Gap Channels Best Quarter With Banana Republic’s Mad Men
Banana Republic via Bloomberg
Models wearing Gap Inc.’s Banana Republic “Mad Men” collection pose for a photograph in a handout publicity shot.
Models wearing Gap Inc.’s Banana Republic “Mad Men” collection pose for a photograph in a handout publicity shot. Source: Banana Republic via Bloomberg
Gap Channels Best Quarter With Banana Republic’s Mad Men
Banana Republic via Bloomberg
A model wearing an outfit designed by Trina Turk for Gap Inc.’s Banana Republic poses for a photograph in a handout publicity shot.
A model wearing an outfit designed by Trina Turk for Gap Inc.’s Banana Republic poses for a photograph in a handout publicity shot. Source: Banana Republic via Bloomberg
Gap Channels Best Quarter With Banana Republic’s Mad Men
Banana Republic via Bloomberg
A model wearing a dress designed by Trina Turk for Gap Inc.’s Banana Republic poses for a photograph in this handout publicity shot.
A model wearing a dress designed by Trina Turk for Gap Inc.’s Banana Republic poses for a photograph in this handout publicity shot. Source: Banana Republic via Bloomberg
Gap Channels Best Quarter With Banana Republic’s Mad Men
Banana Republic via Bloomberg
Gap Inc.’s Banana Republic advertisement shows a model wearing a dress from the “Mad Men” collection.
Gap Inc.’s Banana Republic advertisement shows a model wearing a dress from the “Mad Men” collection. Source: Banana Republic via Bloomberg
Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.
Article source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-29/gap-channels-best-quarter-with-banana-republic-s-mad-men-retail.html
Gap Channels Best Quarter With Banana Republic’s Mad Men: Retail
Clothing based on the 1960s “Mad
Men” styles of Don Draper and Peggy Olson helped Banana
Republic post its best first-quarter sales ever this year.
Now the Gap Inc. (GPS) (GPS) brand is teaming up with a name designer -
- California’s Trina Turk — in an attempt to keep the nascent
turnaround going.
Banana Republic’s North American same-store sales rose 5
percent in the three months ended April 28, the most in two
years, while total revenue at the unit rose 7.4 percent to a
first-quarter best of $622 million, according to Gap’s website.
The performance shows that San Francisco-based Gap’s
upscale brand may have achieved the right mix of professional
and casual apparel. The “Mad Men” line, created with Emmy
Award-winning costume designer Janie Bryant, and the Trina Turk
clothes are Banana Republic’s first collections with outside
designers. The idea is to reach new customers and sell
exclusive, limited-run products at full-price.
“Both of these are great co-branding opportunities,”
Jennifer Davis, an analyst at Lazard Capital Markets in New
York, said in an interview. “Trina Turk and ‘Mad Men’ are
brand-appropriate for Banana Republic. It’s smart, their
customer relates to it.”
Banana Republic’s rebound buttresses turnarounds at the Old
Navy and Gap brands in the U.S., helping drive a 40 percent-plus
rally in the shares this year. Earlier this month, Gap reached a
more than 10-year high of (GPS) $29.14.
The new collaborations are part of Banana Republic’s effort
to spice up its offerings while maintaining its more standard
basics, and something the company is interested in continuing
with other partners, Simon Kneen, the division’s creative
director, said in an interview in his New York office.
Opposites Attract
“It’s not about bringing things in just to change what we
do, it’s actually to enhance and make our own brand feel
stronger,” Kneen said. Trina Turk is “almost in a sense the
opposite of us a little bit because she’s so much fun. She’s so
much more color than we’d ever be, so much more print than we’d
ever be, so it’s great to actually work with something that’s
very different from who we are.”
Turk, who has her own boutiques and shopping website, is
best known for her colorful printed women’s apparel. Nordstrom
Inc. and Neiman Marcus Group Inc. are among stores that sell her
merchandise, ranging from $338 Henna print strapless dresses to
$174 shell print bikinis. The collection will be introduced on
June 7 with a pre-sale on Gilt Groupe Inc.’s website, and
includes swimwear, towels and dresses.
Cool Factor
While Banana Republic’s sales have yet to return to the
$2.72 billion generated in the fiscal year ended Feb. 2, 2008,
they’ve recovered from the dip to $2.46 billion two years after
that, when the unit offered too much workwear and lost, in Chief
Executive Officer Glenn Murphy’s words, “the cool factor, that
edgy factor, those special products that Banana Republic is
known for.”
In the past year, Gap has boosted the brand’s marketing
budget and started opening company-operated and franchise
locations overseas, including a store on the Avenue des Champs
Elysees, Paris’s most famous shopping street, a vote of
confidence that the brand is regaining styles that Murphy says
“redefined work” a decade ago.
Gap acquired Banana Republic in 1983 with two stores, when
it was a purveyor of safari-themed goods, largely via mail-order
catalogs. The brand gained popularity as the dot-com boom of the
late 1990s propelled the rise of business-casual apparel. Banana
Republic rode that wave by adopting a mix of casual and work-
appropriate men’s and women’s clothing from pencil skirts to
blazers to cashmere sweaters, targeting fashion-conscious
affluent urban professionals.
Lifestyle Brand
Sales were so robust through the 90s that Banana Republic
began to see itself as more of an upscale lifestyle brand, and
started selling silverware, linens and other home fashion items,
a plan that didn’t work out, Richard Jaffe, an analyst at Stifel
Nicolaus Co. in New York, said in a telephone interview.
Still, Jaffe says, Banana Republic never lost its niche as a
more sophisticated and expensive division of Gap.
In the months leading up to the recession, Banana Republic
endured a management shakeup, which put pressure on the brand
just as consumers cut back on spending. Meanwhile, the clothes
were no longer connecting with core female customers.
At an investor meeting in October 2009, Marni Shapiro, an
analyst at Retail Tracker LLC, told management the assortment at
Banana Republic was “killing” her. Shapiro asked how the
retailer planned to win back once-loyal consumers like herself
if it insisted on selling sweaters “appropriate for a 65-, 70-
year-old mother,” as well as unappealing colors and fits. The
brand needed to “work again,” especially amid stiffer
competition, she said.
Resurgent J. Crew
Increasingly, that competition has included department
stores such as Macy’s Inc. (M) (M) and Nordstrom and a resurgent J.Crew
Group Inc., led by former Gap CEO Mickey Drexler.
In the past two years, Banana Republic has started
promoting so-called versatile apparel — such as dresses that
can be worn to work then out with friends, or “desk to
dinner,” as Julie Rosen, head of merchandising for the unit,
called it at Gap’s October investor meeting. It’s also ramping
up its line of men’s suits, which have sold more briskly than
women’s office wear.
“You focus on what you do well rather than the things that
were distracting you a lot and I think that’s really what we’re
doing now with the collection,” Kneen said. “Versatility,
that’s at the heart of what we do.”
Banana Republic remains “a work in progress,” and the
brand could offer more casual apparel to better compete with
J.Crew or Ann Taylor, Lazard’s Davis says.
Jaffe says the brand has successfully refocused on
workwear.
“Mad Men has worked. The smart casual look they offer
today has fallen into favor,” Jaffe said, citing the success of
its women’s dresses. “Banana’s in the right place at the right
time. It’s a good brand, a good product mix, well-focused with
an opportunity to expand online and internationally.”
To contact the reporter on this story:
Sapna Maheshwari in New York at
[email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Robin Ajello at
[email protected]
Article source: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-05-29/gap-channels-best-quarter-with-banana-republic-s-mad-men-retail
Gap Channels Best Quarter With Banana Republic’s Mad Men: Retail
Clothing based on the 1960s “Mad
Men” styles of Don Draper and Peggy Olson helped Banana
Republic post its best first-quarter sales ever this year.
Now the Gap Inc. (GPS) (GPS) brand is teaming up with a name designer -
- California’s Trina Turk — in an attempt to keep the nascent
turnaround going.
Banana Republic’s North American same-store sales rose 5
percent in the three months ended April 28, the most in two
years, while total revenue at the unit rose 7.4 percent to a
first-quarter best of $622 million, according to Gap’s website.
The performance shows that San Francisco-based Gap’s
upscale brand may have achieved the right mix of professional
and casual apparel. The “Mad Men” line, created with Emmy
Award-winning costume designer Janie Bryant, and the Trina Turk
clothes are Banana Republic’s first collections with outside
designers. The idea is to reach new customers and sell
exclusive, limited-run products at full-price.
“Both of these are great co-branding opportunities,”
Jennifer Davis, an analyst at Lazard Capital Markets in New
York, said in an interview. “Trina Turk and ‘Mad Men’ are
brand-appropriate for Banana Republic. It’s smart, their
customer relates to it.”
Banana Republic’s rebound buttresses turnarounds at the Old
Navy and Gap brands in the U.S., helping drive a 40 percent-plus
rally in the shares this year. Earlier this month, Gap reached a
more than 10-year high of (GPS) $29.14.
The new collaborations are part of Banana Republic’s effort
to spice up its offerings while maintaining its more standard
basics, and something the company is interested in continuing
with other partners, Simon Kneen, the division’s creative
director, said in an interview in his New York office.
Opposites Attract
“It’s not about bringing things in just to change what we
do, it’s actually to enhance and make our own brand feel
stronger,” Kneen said. Trina Turk is “almost in a sense the
opposite of us a little bit because she’s so much fun. She’s so
much more color than we’d ever be, so much more print than we’d
ever be, so it’s great to actually work with something that’s
very different from who we are.”
Turk, who has her own boutiques and shopping website, is
best known for her colorful printed women’s apparel. Nordstrom
Inc. and Neiman Marcus Group Inc. are among stores that sell her
merchandise, ranging from $338 Henna print strapless dresses to
$174 shell print bikinis. The collection will be introduced on
June 7 with a pre-sale on Gilt Groupe Inc.’s website, and
includes swimwear, towels and dresses.
Cool Factor
While Banana Republic’s sales have yet to return to the
$2.72 billion generated in the fiscal year ended Feb. 2, 2008,
they’ve recovered from the dip to $2.46 billion two years after
that, when the unit offered too much workwear and lost, in Chief
Executive Officer Glenn Murphy’s words, “the cool factor, that
edgy factor, those special products that Banana Republic is
known for.”
In the past year, Gap has boosted the brand’s marketing
budget and started opening company-operated and franchise
locations overseas, including a store on the Avenue des Champs
Elysees, Paris’s most famous shopping street, a vote of
confidence that the brand is regaining styles that Murphy says
“redefined work” a decade ago.
Gap acquired Banana Republic in 1983 with two stores, when
it was a purveyor of safari-themed goods, largely via mail-order
catalogs. The brand gained popularity as the dot-com boom of the
late 1990s propelled the rise of business-casual apparel. Banana
Republic rode that wave by adopting a mix of casual and work-
appropriate men’s and women’s clothing from pencil skirts to
blazers to cashmere sweaters, targeting fashion-conscious
affluent urban professionals.
Lifestyle Brand
Sales were so robust through the 90s that Banana Republic
began to see itself as more of an upscale lifestyle brand, and
started selling silverware, linens and other home fashion items,
a plan that didn’t work out, Richard Jaffe, an analyst at Stifel
Nicolaus Co. in New York, said in a telephone interview.
Still, Jaffe says, Banana Republic never lost its niche as a
more sophisticated and expensive division of Gap.
In the months leading up to the recession, Banana Republic
endured a management shakeup, which put pressure on the brand
just as consumers cut back on spending. Meanwhile, the clothes
were no longer connecting with core female customers.
At an investor meeting in October 2009, Marni Shapiro, an
analyst at Retail Tracker LLC, told management the assortment at
Banana Republic was “killing” her. Shapiro asked how the
retailer planned to win back once-loyal consumers like herself
if it insisted on selling sweaters “appropriate for a 65-, 70-
year-old mother,” as well as unappealing colors and fits. The
brand needed to “work again,” especially amid stiffer
competition, she said.
Resurgent J. Crew
Increasingly, that competition has included department
stores such as Macy’s Inc. (M) (M) and Nordstrom and a resurgent J.Crew
Group Inc., led by former Gap CEO Mickey Drexler.
In the past two years, Banana Republic has started
promoting so-called versatile apparel — such as dresses that
can be worn to work then out with friends, or “desk to
dinner,” as Julie Rosen, head of merchandising for the unit,
called it at Gap’s October investor meeting. It’s also ramping
up its line of men’s suits, which have sold more briskly than
women’s office wear.
“You focus on what you do well rather than the things that
were distracting you a lot and I think that’s really what we’re
doing now with the collection,” Kneen said. “Versatility,
that’s at the heart of what we do.”
Banana Republic remains “a work in progress,” and the
brand could offer more casual apparel to better compete with
J.Crew or Ann Taylor, Lazard’s Davis says.
Jaffe says the brand has successfully refocused on
workwear.
“Mad Men has worked. The smart casual look they offer
today has fallen into favor,” Jaffe said, citing the success of
its women’s dresses. “Banana’s in the right place at the right
time. It’s a good brand, a good product mix, well-focused with
an opportunity to expand online and internationally.”
To contact the reporter on this story:
Sapna Maheshwari in New York at
[email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Robin Ajello at
[email protected]
Article source: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-05-29/gap-channels-best-quarter-with-banana-republic-s-mad-men-retail
Gap Channels Best Quarter With Banana Republic’s Mad Men: Retail
Clothing based on the 1960s “Mad
Men” styles of Don Draper and Peggy Olson helped Banana
Republic post its best first-quarter sales ever this year.
Now the Gap Inc. (GPS) (GPS) brand is teaming up with a name designer -
- California’s Trina Turk — in an attempt to keep the nascent
turnaround going.
Banana Republic’s North American same-store sales rose 5
percent in the three months ended April 28, the most in two
years, while total revenue at the unit rose 7.4 percent to a
first-quarter best of $622 million, according to Gap’s website.
The performance shows that San Francisco-based Gap’s
upscale brand may have achieved the right mix of professional
and casual apparel. The “Mad Men” line, created with Emmy
Award-winning costume designer Janie Bryant, and the Trina Turk
clothes are Banana Republic’s first collections with outside
designers. The idea is to reach new customers and sell
exclusive, limited-run products at full-price.
“Both of these are great co-branding opportunities,”
Jennifer Davis, an analyst at Lazard Capital Markets in New
York, said in an interview. “Trina Turk and ‘Mad Men’ are
brand-appropriate for Banana Republic. It’s smart, their
customer relates to it.”
Banana Republic’s rebound buttresses turnarounds at the Old
Navy and Gap brands in the U.S., helping drive a 40 percent-plus
rally in the shares this year. Earlier this month, Gap reached a
more than 10-year high of (GPS) $29.14.
The new collaborations are part of Banana Republic’s effort
to spice up its offerings while maintaining its more standard
basics, and something the company is interested in continuing
with other partners, Simon Kneen, the division’s creative
director, said in an interview in his New York office.
Opposites Attract
“It’s not about bringing things in just to change what we
do, it’s actually to enhance and make our own brand feel
stronger,” Kneen said. Trina Turk is “almost in a sense the
opposite of us a little bit because she’s so much fun. She’s so
much more color than we’d ever be, so much more print than we’d
ever be, so it’s great to actually work with something that’s
very different from who we are.”
Turk, who has her own boutiques and shopping website, is
best known for her colorful printed women’s apparel. Nordstrom
Inc. and Neiman Marcus Group Inc. are among stores that sell her
merchandise, ranging from $338 Henna print strapless dresses to
$174 shell print bikinis. The collection will be introduced on
June 7 with a pre-sale on Gilt Groupe Inc.’s website, and
includes swimwear, towels and dresses.
Cool Factor
While Banana Republic’s sales have yet to return to the
$2.72 billion generated in the fiscal year ended Feb. 2, 2008,
they’ve recovered from the dip to $2.46 billion two years after
that, when the unit offered too much workwear and lost, in Chief
Executive Officer Glenn Murphy’s words, “the cool factor, that
edgy factor, those special products that Banana Republic is
known for.”
In the past year, Gap has boosted the brand’s marketing
budget and started opening company-operated and franchise
locations overseas, including a store on the Avenue des Champs
Elysees, Paris’s most famous shopping street, a vote of
confidence that the brand is regaining styles that Murphy says
“redefined work” a decade ago.
Gap acquired Banana Republic in 1983 with two stores, when
it was a purveyor of safari-themed goods, largely via mail-order
catalogs. The brand gained popularity as the dot-com boom of the
late 1990s propelled the rise of business-casual apparel. Banana
Republic rode that wave by adopting a mix of casual and work-
appropriate men’s and women’s clothing from pencil skirts to
blazers to cashmere sweaters, targeting fashion-conscious
affluent urban professionals.
Lifestyle Brand
Sales were so robust through the 90s that Banana Republic
began to see itself as more of an upscale lifestyle brand, and
started selling silverware, linens and other home fashion items,
a plan that didn’t work out, Richard Jaffe, an analyst at Stifel
Nicolaus Co. in New York, said in a telephone interview.
Still, Jaffe says, Banana Republic never lost its niche as a
more sophisticated and expensive division of Gap.
In the months leading up to the recession, Banana Republic
endured a management shakeup, which put pressure on the brand
just as consumers cut back on spending. Meanwhile, the clothes
were no longer connecting with core female customers.
At an investor meeting in October 2009, Marni Shapiro, an
analyst at Retail Tracker LLC, told management the assortment at
Banana Republic was “killing” her. Shapiro asked how the
retailer planned to win back once-loyal consumers like herself
if it insisted on selling sweaters “appropriate for a 65-, 70-
year-old mother,” as well as unappealing colors and fits. The
brand needed to “work again,” especially amid stiffer
competition, she said.
Resurgent J. Crew
Increasingly, that competition has included department
stores such as Macy’s Inc. (M) (M) and Nordstrom and a resurgent J.Crew
Group Inc., led by former Gap CEO Mickey Drexler.
In the past two years, Banana Republic has started
promoting so-called versatile apparel — such as dresses that
can be worn to work then out with friends, or “desk to
dinner,” as Julie Rosen, head of merchandising for the unit,
called it at Gap’s October investor meeting. It’s also ramping
up its line of men’s suits, which have sold more briskly than
women’s office wear.
“You focus on what you do well rather than the things that
were distracting you a lot and I think that’s really what we’re
doing now with the collection,” Kneen said. “Versatility,
that’s at the heart of what we do.”
Banana Republic remains “a work in progress,” and the
brand could offer more casual apparel to better compete with
J.Crew or Ann Taylor, Lazard’s Davis says.
Jaffe says the brand has successfully refocused on
workwear.
“Mad Men has worked. The smart casual look they offer
today has fallen into favor,” Jaffe said, citing the success of
its women’s dresses. “Banana’s in the right place at the right
time. It’s a good brand, a good product mix, well-focused with
an opportunity to expand online and internationally.”
To contact the reporter on this story:
Sapna Maheshwari in New York at
[email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Robin Ajello at
[email protected]
Article source: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-05-29/gap-channels-best-quarter-with-banana-republic-s-mad-men-retail
Banana Republic’s Mad Men Drive Gap’s Best First Quarter
Clothing based on the 1960s “Mad
Men” styles of Don Draper and Peggy Olson helped Banana
Republic post its best first-quarter sales ever this year.
Now the Gap Inc. (GPS) (GPS) brand is teaming up with a name designer -
- California’s Trina Turk — in an attempt to keep the nascent
turnaround going.
Banana Republic’s North American same-store sales rose 5
percent in the three months ended April 28, the most in two
years, while total revenue at the unit rose 7.4 percent to a
first-quarter best of $622 million, according to Gap’s website.
The performance shows that San Francisco-based Gap’s
upscale brand may have achieved the right mix of professional
and casual apparel. The “Mad Men” line, created with Emmy
Award-winning costume designer Janie Bryant, and the Trina Turk
clothes are Banana Republic’s first collections with outside
designers. The idea is to reach new customers and sell
exclusive, limited-run products at full-price.
“Both of these are great co-branding opportunities,”
Jennifer Davis, an analyst at Lazard Capital Markets in New
York, said in an interview. “Trina Turk and ‘Mad Men’ are
brand-appropriate for Banana Republic. It’s smart, their
customer relates to it.”
Banana Republic’s rebound buttresses turnarounds at the Old
Navy and Gap brands in the U.S., helping drive a 40 percent-plus
rally in the shares this year. Earlier this month, Gap reached a
more than 10-year high of (GPS) $29.14.
The new collaborations are part of Banana Republic’s effort
to spice up its offerings while maintaining its more standard
basics, and something the company is interested in continuing
with other partners, Simon Kneen, the division’s creative
director, said in an interview in his New York office.
Opposites Attract
“It’s not about bringing things in just to change what we
do, it’s actually to enhance and make our own brand feel
stronger,” Kneen said. Trina Turk is “almost in a sense the
opposite of us a little bit because she’s so much fun. She’s so
much more color than we’d ever be, so much more print than we’d
ever be, so it’s great to actually work with something that’s
very different from who we are.”
Turk, who has her own boutiques and shopping website, is
best known for her colorful printed women’s apparel. Nordstrom
Inc. and Neiman Marcus Group Inc. are among stores that sell her
merchandise, ranging from $338 Henna print strapless dresses to
$174 shell print bikinis. The collection will be introduced on
June 7 with a pre-sale on Gilt Groupe Inc.’s website, and
includes swimwear, towels and dresses.
Cool Factor
While Banana Republic’s sales have yet to return to the
$2.72 billion generated in the fiscal year ended Feb. 2, 2008,
they’ve recovered from the dip to $2.46 billion two years after
that, when the unit offered too much workwear and lost, in Chief
Executive Officer Glenn Murphy’s words, “the cool factor, that
edgy factor, those special products that Banana Republic is
known for.”
In the past year, Gap has boosted the brand’s marketing
budget and started opening company-operated and franchise
locations overseas, including a store on the Avenue des Champs
Elysees, Paris’s most famous shopping street, a vote of
confidence that the brand is regaining styles that Murphy says
“redefined work” a decade ago.
Gap acquired Banana Republic in 1983 with two stores, when
it was a purveyor of safari-themed goods, largely via mail-order
catalogs. The brand gained popularity as the dot-com boom of the
late 1990s propelled the rise of business-casual apparel. Banana
Republic rode that wave by adopting a mix of casual and work-
appropriate men’s and women’s clothing from pencil skirts to
blazers to cashmere sweaters, targeting fashion-conscious
affluent urban professionals.
Lifestyle Brand
Sales were so robust through the 90s that Banana Republic
began to see itself as more of an upscale lifestyle brand, and
started selling silverware, linens and other home fashion items,
a plan that didn’t work out, Richard Jaffe, an analyst at Stifel
Nicolaus Co. in New York, said in a telephone interview.
Still, Jaffe says, Banana Republic never lost its niche as a
more sophisticated and expensive division of Gap.
In the months leading up to the recession, Banana Republic
endured a management shakeup, which put pressure on the brand
just as consumers cut back on spending. Meanwhile, the clothes
were no longer connecting with core female customers.
At an investor meeting in October 2009, Marni Shapiro, an
analyst at Retail Tracker LLC, told management the assortment at
Banana Republic was “killing” her. Shapiro asked how the
retailer planned to win back once-loyal consumers like herself
if it insisted on selling sweaters “appropriate for a 65-, 70-
year-old mother,” as well as unappealing colors and fits. The
brand needed to “work again,” especially amid stiffer
competition, she said.
Resurgent J. Crew
Increasingly, that competition has included department
stores such as Macy’s Inc. (M) (M) and Nordstrom and a resurgent J.Crew
Group Inc., led by former Gap CEO Mickey Drexler.
In the past two years, Banana Republic has started
promoting so-called versatile apparel — such as dresses that
can be worn to work then out with friends, or “desk to
dinner,” as Julie Rosen, head of merchandising for the unit,
called it at Gap’s October investor meeting. It’s also ramping
up its line of men’s suits, which have sold more briskly than
women’s office wear.
“You focus on what you do well rather than the things that
were distracting you a lot and I think that’s really what we’re
doing now with the collection,” Kneen said. “Versatility,
that’s at the heart of what we do.”
Banana Republic remains “a work in progress,” and the
brand could offer more casual apparel to better compete with
J.Crew or Ann Taylor, Lazard’s Davis says.
Jaffe says the brand has successfully refocused on
workwear.
“Mad Men has worked. The smart casual look they offer
today has fallen into favor,” Jaffe said, citing the success of
its women’s dresses. “Banana’s in the right place at the right
time. It’s a good brand, a good product mix, well-focused with
an opportunity to expand online and internationally.”
To contact the reporter on this story:
Sapna Maheshwari in New York at
[email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Robin Ajello at
[email protected]
Article source: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-05-29/gap-channels-best-quarter-with-banana-republic-s-mad-men-retail
Gap Channels Best Quarter With Banana Republic’s Mad Men: Retail
Gap Channels Best Quarter With Banana Republic’s Mad Men
Banana Republic via Bloomberg
A model wearing an outfit designed by Trina Turk for Gap Inc.’s Banana Republic poses for a photograph in a handout publicity shot.
A model wearing an outfit designed by Trina Turk for Gap Inc.’s Banana Republic poses for a photograph in a handout publicity shot. Source: Banana Republic via Bloomberg
Gap Channels Best Quarter With Banana Republic’s Mad Men
Banana Republic via Bloomberg
A model wearing a dress designed by Trina Turk for Gap Inc.’s Banana Republic poses for a photograph in this handout publicity shot.
A model wearing a dress designed by Trina Turk for Gap Inc.’s Banana Republic poses for a photograph in this handout publicity shot. Source: Banana Republic via Bloomberg
Gap Channels Best Quarter With Banana Republic’s Mad Men
Banana Republic via Bloomberg
Models wearing Gap Inc.’s Banana Republic “Mad Men” collection pose for a photograph in a handout publicity shot.
Models wearing Gap Inc.’s Banana Republic “Mad Men” collection pose for a photograph in a handout publicity shot. Source: Banana Republic via Bloomberg
Gap Channels Best Quarter With Banana Republic’s Mad Men
Banana Republic via Bloomberg
Gap Inc.’s Banana Republic advertisement shows a model wearing a dress from the “Mad Men” collection.
Gap Inc.’s Banana Republic advertisement shows a model wearing a dress from the “Mad Men” collection. Source: Banana Republic via Bloomberg
Clothing based on the 1960s “Mad
Men” styles of Don Draper and Peggy Olson helped Banana
Republic post its best first-quarter sales ever this year.
Now the Gap Inc. (GPS) brand is teaming up with a name designer -
- California’s Trina Turk — in an attempt to keep the nascent
turnaround going.
Banana Republic’s North American same-store sales rose 5
percent in the three months ended April 28, the most in two
years, while total revenue at the unit rose 7.4 percent to a
first-quarter best of $622 million, according to Gap’s website.
The performance shows that San Francisco-based Gap’s
upscale brand may have achieved the right mix of professional
and casual apparel. The “Mad Men” line, created with Emmy
Award-winning costume designer Janie Bryant, and the Trina Turk
clothes are Banana Republic’s first collections with outside
designers. The idea is to reach new customers and sell
exclusive, limited-run products at full-price.
“Both of these are great co-branding opportunities,”
Jennifer Davis, an analyst at Lazard Capital Markets in New
York, said in an interview. “Trina Turk and ‘Mad Men’ are
brand-appropriate for Banana Republic. It’s smart, their
customer relates to it.”
Banana Republic’s rebound buttresses turnarounds at the Old
Navy and Gap brands in the U.S., helping drive a 40 percent-plus
rally in the shares this year. Earlier this month, Gap reached a
more than 10-year high of $29.14.
The new collaborations are part of Banana Republic’s effort
to spice up its offerings while maintaining its more standard
basics, and something the company is interested in continuing
with other partners, Simon Kneen, the division’s creative
director, said in an interview in his New York office.
Opposites Attract
“It’s not about bringing things in just to change what we
do, it’s actually to enhance and make our own brand feel
stronger,” Kneen said. Trina Turk is “almost in a sense the
opposite of us a little bit because she’s so much fun. She’s so
much more color than we’d ever be, so much more print than we’d
ever be, so it’s great to actually work with something that’s
very different from who we are.”
Turk, who has her own boutiques and shopping website, is
best known for her colorful printed women’s apparel. Nordstrom
Inc. and Neiman Marcus Group Inc. are among stores that sell her
merchandise, ranging from $338 Henna print strapless dresses to
$174 shell print bikinis. The collection will be introduced on
June 7 with a pre-sale on Gilt Groupe Inc.’s website, and
includes swimwear, towels and dresses.
Cool Factor
While Banana Republic’s sales have yet to return to the
$2.72 billion generated in the fiscal year ended Feb. 2, 2008,
they’ve recovered from the dip to $2.46 billion two years after
that, when the unit offered too much workwear and lost, in Chief
Executive Officer Glenn Murphy’s words, “the cool factor, that
edgy factor, those special products that Banana Republic is
known for.”
In the past year, Gap has boosted the brand’s marketing
budget and started opening company-operated and franchise
locations overseas, including a store on the Avenue des Champs
Elysees, Paris’s most famous shopping street, a vote of
confidence that the brand is regaining styles that Murphy says
“redefined work” a decade ago.
Gap acquired Banana Republic in 1983 with two stores, when
it was a purveyor of safari-themed goods, largely via mail-order
catalogs. The brand gained popularity as the dot-com boom of the
late 1990s propelled the rise of business-casual apparel. Banana
Republic rode that wave by adopting a mix of casual and work-
appropriate men’s and women’s clothing from pencil skirts to
blazers to cashmere sweaters, targeting fashion-conscious
affluent urban professionals.
Lifestyle Brand
Sales were so robust through the 90s that Banana Republic
began to see itself as more of an upscale lifestyle brand, and
started selling silverware, linens and other home fashion items,
a plan that didn’t work out, Richard Jaffe, an analyst at Stifel
Nicolaus Co. in New York, said in a telephone interview.
Still, Jaffe says, Banana Republic never lost its niche as a
more sophisticated and expensive division of Gap.
In the months leading up to the recession, Banana Republic
endured a management shakeup, which put pressure on the brand
just as consumers cut back on spending. Meanwhile, the clothes
were no longer connecting with core female customers.
At an investor meeting in October 2009, Marni Shapiro, an
analyst at Retail Tracker LLC, told management the assortment at
Banana Republic was “killing” her. Shapiro asked how the
retailer planned to win back once-loyal consumers like herself
if it insisted on selling sweaters “appropriate for a 65-, 70-
year-old mother,” as well as unappealing colors and fits. The
brand needed to “work again,” especially amid stiffer
competition, she said.
Resurgent J. Crew
Increasingly, that competition has included department
stores such as Macy’s Inc. (M) and Nordstrom and a resurgent J.Crew
Group Inc., led by former Gap CEO Mickey Drexler.
In the past two years, Banana Republic has started
promoting so-called versatile apparel — such as dresses that
can be worn to work then out with friends, or “desk to
dinner,” as Julie Rosen, head of merchandising for the unit,
called it at Gap’s October investor meeting. It’s also ramping
up its line of men’s suits, which have sold more briskly than
women’s office wear.
“You focus on what you do well rather than the things that
were distracting you a lot and I think that’s really what we’re
doing now with the collection,” Kneen said. “Versatility,
that’s at the heart of what we do.”
Banana Republic remains “a work in progress,” and the
brand could offer more casual apparel to better compete with
J.Crew or Ann Taylor, Lazard’s Davis says.
Jaffe says the brand has successfully refocused on
workwear.
“Mad Men has worked. The smart casual look they offer
today has fallen into favor,” Jaffe said, citing the success of
its women’s dresses. “Banana’s in the right place at the right
time. It’s a good brand, a good product mix, well-focused with
an opportunity to expand online and internationally.”
To contact the reporter on this story:
Sapna Maheshwari in New York at
[email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Robin Ajello at
[email protected]
Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.
Article source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-29/gap-channels-best-quarter-with-banana-republic-s-mad-men-retail.html
Banana Republic’s Simon Kneen on ‘Mad Men’ Style This Season, and Banana’s Style Next Season
By Ray A. Smith
David X Prutting/BFAnyc.com
Early evening Wednesday, Banana Republic presented a sharp Fall/Holiday 2012 collection to the press at the IAC Building in Chelsea.
Naturally Heard on the Runway wanted to hear about the inspiration for the collection. But first, we had to ask Simon Kneen, Banana Republic’s creative director, what’s up with all the plaid sport coats showing up on men in the latest season of “Mad Men”?
Banana Republic has done two capsule collections with the blessing of the show’s costume designer Janie Bryant. The capsule collection in stores now reflects how men dressed up in the early part of the 60s: trim suits with skinny ties. This season takes place in the latter half of the 60s and the styles on the show are noticeably more colorful (in every sense of that word). The plaid sport coats in particular are loud relative to the sleek grey suits viewers have become accustomed to. “They’re cute, huh?” responded replied Mr. Kneen when asked about the “mad about plaid” thing happening with the male characters.
David X Prutting/BFAnyc.com
Simon Kneen (Banana Republic Creative Director)
“Of course, it’s historically accurate. Janie’s work is extremely accurate. That was an odd time. In London there was the whole Carnaby Street thing happening and at the same time in mainstream America, colors were getting were getting brighter, skirts were getting shorter, certainly plaid jackets [were being worn]. Suits were going away and the sports jacket was coming in.”
Mr. Kneen says he can see plaid sport coats resonating with men today. In fact Banana Republic is prepared. “We actually have plaid in store now and we have a beautiful one coming in for summer.”
Plaid has proven to be a winner in menswear in recent years, on shirts and shorts especially. Maybe “Mad Men” – and Banana Republic – can help make plaid sport coats happen too.
Speaking of plaid, Banana Republic’s presentation included a terrific, fitted, three-piece grey glen plaid suit, that will be sold as separates. It was one of a number of polished looks that played on a blend of country charm and city chic with an English equestrian theme running throughout.
“I was loving that kind of rich texture that the country offers and the marriage to some of the coolness of the city and thinking about how to interpret that through texture in a Banana Republic way.”
An arresting moleskin field jacket on one of the male models hit all those goals.
Score.
David X Prutting/BFAnyc.com
David X Prutting/BFAnyc.com
David X Prutting/BFAnyc.com
David X Prutting/BFAnyc.com
David X Prutting/BFAnyc.com
Article source: http://blogs.wsj.com/runway/2012/04/06/banana-republics-simon-kneen-on-mad-men-style-this-season-and-bananas-style-next-season/
Banana Republic’s Simon Kneen on “Mad Men” Style This Season, and Banana’s Style Next Season
By Ray A. Smith
David X Prutting/BFAnyc.com
Early evening Wednesday, Banana Republic presented a sharp Fall/Holiday 2012 collection to the press at the IAC Building in Chelsea.
Naturally Heard on the Runway wanted to hear about the inspiration for the collection. But first, we had to ask Simon Kneen, Banana Republic’s creative director, what’s up with all the plaid sport coats showing up on men in the latest season of “Mad Men”?
Banana Republic has done two capsule collections with the blessing of the show’s costume designer Janie Bryant. The capsule collection in stores now reflects how men dressed up in the early part of the 60s: trim suits with skinny ties. This season takes place in the latter half of the 60s and the styles on the show are noticeably more colorful (in every sense of that word). The plaid sport coats in particular are loud relative to the sleek grey suits viewers have become accustomed to. “They’re cute, huh?” responded replied Mr. Kneen when asked about the “mad about plaid” thing happening with the male characters.
David X Prutting/BFAnyc.com
Simon Kneen (Banana Republic Creative Director)
“Of course, it’s historically accurate. Janie’s work is extremely accurate. That was an odd time. In London there was the whole Carnaby Street thing happening and at the same time in mainstream America, colors were getting were getting brighter, skirts were getting shorter, certainly plaid jackets [were being worn]. Suits were going away and the sports jacket was coming in.”
Mr. Kneen says he can see plaid sport coats resonating with men today. In fact Banana Republic is prepared. “We actually have plaid in store now and we have a beautiful one coming in for summer.”
Plaid has proven to be a winner in menswear in recent years, on shirts and shorts especially. Maybe “Mad Men” – and Banana Republic – can help make plaid sport coats happen too.
Speaking of plaid, Banana Republic’s presentation included a terrific, fitted, three-piece grey glen plaid suit, that will be sold as separates. It was one of a number of polished looks that played on a blend of country charm and city chic with an English equestrian theme running throughout.
“I was loving that kind of rich texture that the country offers and the marriage to some of the coolness of the city and thinking about how to interpret that through texture in a Banana Republic way.”
An arresting moleskin field jacket on one of the male models hit all those goals.
Score.
David X Prutting/BFAnyc.com
David X Prutting/BFAnyc.com
David X Prutting/BFAnyc.com
David X Prutting/BFAnyc.com
David X Prutting/BFAnyc.com
Article source: http://blogs.wsj.com/runway/2012/04/06/banana-republics-simon-kneen-on-mad-men-style-this-season-and-bananas-style-next-season/
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