• Brand name recognition and equity.
Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic are three of the most well known brands in retail. The number .
of stores by location at the end of fiscal 2001 and 200 was 3,079 and 2,848, respectively.
Gap is credited with creating the "casual basics- category of apparel, which includes khakis, t-shirts, .
button-down shirts, knit tops and other comfortable separates. Gap revolutionized the specialty .
apparel category and quickly grew to become the industry leader and spawned several imitators.
In general, the specialty retail apparel industry is characterized by stores that either sell only clothing .
or a combination of clothing and personal care items. It is this pinpoint focus on apparel and style .
products that differentiates the current retail store format from its predecessor, the department store. .
Prior to the opening of the first enclosed shopping mall in Edina, MD in 1956 most clothes shopping .
was done primarily in department stores. Despite offering the convenience of being able to shop for .
multiple purposes under the same roof, such stores by definition lacked any real focus on clothes and .
thus tended to stock traditional and conservative styles. However, during the 1960' and beyond as .
clothing became more associated with self-expression the department store "look' became less .
appealing. It was during this period that Donald and Doris Fisher opened the first Gap in San .
Francisco. The subsequent rapid proliferation of Gap retail outlets was an indicator of public's .
readiness for alternatives to traditional department store clothes. Several entrepreneurs, including The .
Limited's Leslie Wexner, followed the Fishers' lead. Then, during the explosive growth of mega-malls .
in the early to mid-1980's, the concept of this specialty retailer really took off. Retailers realized that .
they did not have to offer everything to everyone, but instead could concentrate on a certain target .