Gap Inc : A Global Apparel Retail Company

Gap's financial control and expense discipline have been excellent. A decrease in liabilities generated tremendous free cash flow that provides the company with flexibility regarding its strategic long-term options.

Procter & Gamble Co is an American global consumer goods company. P&G have various products that range from personal hygiene products to household products.

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).

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”).

Gap was established in 1969 in the heart of San Francisco and has following earned the title of an overall driving garments retailer offering cutting edge, easygoing styles for men, ladies, youngsters and infants. Clean lines and hues, solace and fantastic outline totals up Gap's state of mind to sprucing up or down. Presently you can dress easygoing and cool for less with Gap Voucher codes.

American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (AEO) is a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA. The company targets males and females in the distinct fifteen to twenty-five age groups - tweens, teenagers, and young college adults - in order to sell their assorted line of affordable and trendy clothing products such as sweatshirts, t-shirts, and jeans. American Eagle Outfitters’ primary businesses operate under the brands – American Eagle Outfitters, Aerie by American Eagle Outfitters, AEO Direct, and a third-party retailer. The international company operates 944 American Eagle Outfitters stores and 122 Aerie by American Eagle Outfitters stores in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Hong Kong, and China. Additionally, the AEO Direct delivers to 81 countries worldwide and the third-party retailer operates 66 stores in 12 countries under the American Eagle Outfitters brand. American Eagle is a global retailer with an excellent reputation built upon the priority of “delivering value, variety, and versatility to [their] customers” with “differentiated fashion in key categories” by continuing to “innovate [their] store experience to be more impactful” (SEC 10K).

American companies and their products, have increasingly been pursed to be manufactured abroad. This however is one of the biggest discrepancies we confront within our economy. Although many businesses argue this is beneficial in order for them to turn a higher profit and be successful, the National Labor Committee thinks otherwise. Outsourcing has become one of the leading factors in product recalls, exploitation of workers, and a major contributor to the unemployment statistics in the US.

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

The Fortune 500 was established in 1955. Fortune 500 is a list of the 500 largest companies in the United States as compiled by FORTUNE Magazine. This list is compiled by using recent figures for revenue and includes both public and private companies with publicly available revenue data. (investopia.com) The Fortune 500 companies are ranked by the amount of revenue that they are bringing in on a yearly basis. While many feel that many of those businesses are operated by men, the Fortune 500 currently released and let it be known that there are 21 women CEO’s in the Fortune 500 category. (Management.Fortune)

1. The sign of GM’s impending financial distress is first seen in 2005. GM reported a net loss of more than $10 billion and has continued to post annual losses since that time with losses reaching almost $31 billion in 2008. GM's cash flow from operations in 2005 was a negative $16.8 billion. Reviewing GM’s stock price, we can see that the stock price also decreased dramatically started in 2004 to 2008. In 2005, GM’s stock traded around $19 per share and reached the lowest of $1.45 per share on March 2009.

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’s current objectives and policies include ethical sourcing, better employment practices, and community involvement. These objectives and policies are captured by the following statement:

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).

In the apparel industry, the American Apparel’ faces stiff competition from the Gap, Urban Outfitters, American eagle, and Express.

Gap Inc. is a leading global apparel retail company offering apparel, accessories, and personal care products for men, women, and children under the Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Piperlime, Athleta, and Intermix brands. Having distinct brands across multiple channels and countries allows Gap Inc. a strong competitive advantage.