Old Navy is expanding its brick-and-mortar footprint in North America with a new real estate strategy.
Gap Inc., the parent company of Old Navy and other apparel brands, is making progress on its balanced growth strategy that includes introducing 270 Athleta, Banana Republic, Banana Republic Factory, Gap Factory and Old Navy stores over the next three years. As part of its plan, Gap Inc. said it would open about 60 Old Navy stores by the end of this year. With the new store openings, Gap Inc. aims to expand Old Navy into non-traditional retail locations and test new store formats to deliver on consumers’ evolving needs.
So far, Old Navy has opened several stores in various U.S. cities and towns, including Ramsey, N.J.; Collegeville and Wyncote, Pa; New York City; Glendale, Ariz., and Carlsbad, Cal. New Old Navy stores to come this spring and summer include Edmonton, Canada, Austin, Texas and Memphis, Tenn.
“Investing in Old Navy’s retail presence is central to our continued growth and delivering a seamless brand experience, wherever and however customers choose to shop,” Sonia Syngal, Old Navy’s CEO and president, said. “We are fueling all the ways our customers want to engage with us, starting with providing greater access to our brand through new store openings and remodeling hundreds of locations to underscore the fun, fashion and value for the whole family that only Old Navy can offer.”
A key part of Old Navy’s real estate strategy involves expanding the brand into other retail locations, including outlet, discount and urban shopping centers. In addition to the store openings, Old Navy plans to remodel roughly 150 stores to ensure that existing stores are up to par with Old Navy’s market presence.
According to Gap Inc., for nearly 90 percent of existing stores, the remodeling will improve bathrooms, checkout areas and fitting rooms. Ten percent of existing stores will undergo a full remodeling, including three stores that were fully rebuilt after Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Maria. By the end of the year, Old Navy said it will finish an 18-month remodeling effort to improve a total of 300 locations.
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Complementing the real estate strategy is Old Navy’s other focus, which is to test new store formats. Gap Inc. indicated that these new store formats, which may include implementing additional technology, aims to provide consumers with an engaging and convenient shopping experience for their wardrobe needs.
The Old Navy store openings come on the heels of Gap Inc.’s fourth quarter earnings. The company, which released its financial results in March, reported its fifth consecutive quarter of positive comp sales growth and increased foot traffic across all brands, including Old Navy. For the fourth quarter, comp store sales increased 5 percent and for all of 2017 were up 3 percent across all brands, with Old Navy leading the pack. The brand reported 9 percent quarterly comp-store growth and 6 percent for the full year.