Case Study, Gap Inc.

At the Gap store shelves have displayed merchandise from classic casual to trendy to professional too many times in the past years, causing consumers to wonder what the brand even stands for.

CVS Health Corporation is an integrated pharmacy healthcare and head quartered in Woonsocket, RI. The President and CEO of CVS is Larry J. Merlo. The company has three segments, Pharmacy services, Retail pharmacy and Corporate. CVS was previously known as Caremark Corporation and the name was changed to CVS on September 3rd 2014.

2a. Consumers would certainly see a hike in prices on the imported product and in turn could affect the consumer’s ability to afford neither the domestic made clothing nor foreign made clothing.

The Gap Inc. is a global specialty retailer that operates stores selling casual apparel and accessories for men, women, and children (Yahoo Market Guide, 2001). Under the Gap, are the Old Navy and Banana Republic brands (Yahoo Market Guide, 2001).

With the instability of the political and economic climates, future trade policies may negatively impact the industry. Potential barriers to trade could result in an increase in costs for department stores. Typically, this increase will be passed on to the consumer in the form of higher prices for the same products.

Wahoo Inc. is a C Corporation that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in April 2015. Before filing bankruptcy, Wahoo has net operating loss (NOL) carryforwards of $65,000,000 in 2009, $45,000,000 in 2010, and $30,000,000 in 2011. The company worked out a re-organization plan and one of the note holders (a venture capital firm that financed the company) with a $105,000,000 note payable will receive new common stock and the old stocks will be cancelled. The Bankruptcy Court and the creditors’ committee have accepted the plan. The fair market value of Wahoo before the ownership change was $85,000,000. Wahoo’s selected assets from the balance sheet are as follows:

Lululemon’s ability to source profitably merchandise may be affected; if new trade restrictions are imposed by The United States and other countries where products are produced or sold. These may include additional quotas, duties, tariffs, or other restrictions or regulation. Moreover, China increased in labor cost and other factors associated with production could increase the cost of product. (“Lululemon Athletica Annual Report, 2012”).

Although the Chinese apparel manufacturers would lose profitability due to rising cotton prices and competition from emerging countries, they stand to gain the most from the removal of U.S. quotas and tariffs. According to the author, in 2007, 95% of the 20 billion garments Americans made were purchased overseas. Due to U.S. trade barriers, China’s share of the U.S. apparel import was only 30%. Once these barriers were removed, Chinese apparel would flood the American market due to their low cost and dominance in garment manufacturing. Experts predict that China could eventually supply 85% of U.S. apparel. As they increase their market share in the

Old Navy is a brand owned by Gap, Inc. As a whole, Gap’s purpose is “to make it easy for you to express your personal style throughout your life” (www.gapinc.com). The culture of Gap, Inc is governed by their key values: integrity, respect, open-mindedness, quality and balance. One way Gap achieves their purpose is through one of their four brands, Old Navy. The brand is known for offering on-trend apparel and accessories at great value. Old Navy's mission is to

     Gap Inc. was founded in 1969 by Donald and Doris Fisher in San Francisco, California, with a single store and a handful of employees. Today, they’re one of the world's largest specialty retailers with three of the most recognized and respected brands in the apparel industry - Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy. Gap Inc. has more than 153,000 employees supporting over 4,200 stores in more than 3,100 locations in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France, Japan and Germany. Their 2004 Sales were well over $15 billion, bringing in a net income of $1.03 billion, a 115.7% income growth from previous year.

I think it also works to undo the notions that China was stealing away all our jobs in the apparel arena, because despite the complex protectionist measures taken, America still lost lots of jobs in the textile industry. The author points out that this is because of technology, and that when it really comes down to it, China is losing their textile jobs at a rate faster than the U.S. did (142). She also goes over some of the unintended consequences of the measures such as increased material costs as a result of the increased import barrier (142). She also suggests in this section as an alternative to erecting trade barriers, to instead compensate workers of the losing industries, known as the compensation principle (151). Lastly, with the lift of the measures and quotas by 2005, there will be a new surge in Chinese goods to America, as illustrated in figure 9.1, page 167. China’s percent increase after release from the quotas will measure some 900%.

Old Navy’s history goes right where The Gap, Inc. was founded by Donald.G in 1969. Fisher, who founded his own clothing store out of frustration, when he couldn’t find a pair of jeans that would perfectly fit him. And since that time, The Gap’s retail clothing brand has been one of the most successful in United States history. Before Donald Fisher launched the first Gap store in San Francisco, he had been a prosperous real estate developer. It is fair to say, that Fisher’s first store was an immediate sensation. Young adults from the neighbouring San Francisco have flown to the stores to get low-priced jeans. And in just a few short years, the first Gap store became a huge retail chain composed of 200 stores, in over 20 states, and valued at an estimated $100 million dollars. By the late 1970s, GAP was growing at a rate of almost 80 new stores each year and generating about $300 million annually, which worth mentioning is a lot of money that days. In 1983, Millard Drexler was put in a position of a president of the company and was expected to lead the company into another decade of phenomenal growth. Dexter was a former president of another

Gap Inc. is a large company in the clothing business with over 3,300 stores worldwide. As one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies in 2012 for the sixth straight year, it might be interesting to investigate the ethical issues that have risen in the past years (Gap Inc., 2013a).

The Gap Inc 1. Case Summary The Gap, Inc is a chain of retail stores that sell casual apparel, shoes, and accessories for men, woman and children. Headquarter in San Francisco; the stores operate under a variety of names including: Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy Clothing Company, Gap Kids, and baby Gap. All merchandise sold by chain is private label.

Gap Inc. is a large retail company owning several brands such as Gap, (including Gap Kids, Gap Baby, Gap Body) Banana Republic, Old Navy Piperlime and Athleta. The company is an American clothing and accessories retailer based in San Francisco, and was founded in 1969 by Donald and Doris Fisher. They strive to sell quality clothing, mostly the basics, for good prices. They are a leading company in the apparel retail market with 3,085 stores.