Gap, Inc.

New York -- Gap is returning to television. The brand debuted four commercials that will air on TV, in cinema, in stores and online. Created by Academy Award-nominated director David Fincher, the films were created with Wieden+Kennedy New York as part of Gap's new marketing campaign, Dress Normal. The TV campaign launches in the United States and United Kingdom in the week of Sept. 1.

San Francisco -- Gap Inc. posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit and sales and raised its full-year profit forecast, helped by strong sales at Old Navy.

Net profit rose to $332 million in the second quarter ended Aug. 2, from $303 million a year ago.

San Francisco -- Piperlime, a division of Gap Inc., has enhanced its website to include streams of images filtered directly from Instagram providing customers with fashion. Shoppers will be able to click the images and shop the items to make these looks their own. Product pages will also feature styling ideas from bloggers and influencers, showing unique ways to style the same must-have pieces for each season.

San Francisco -- Gap is launching the inaugural GapKids Class of 2014, a social media contest inviting parents to submit photos of their kids for the chance to be featured in a 2015 GapKids marketing campaign. This is Gap's next generation of Casting Call, a marketing program that lasted six years.

New York -- Costco Wholesale Corp. fell slightly short of estimates in July even as most other retailers who still report same-store monthly sales outperformed expectations.

The warehouse club giant reported a 5% rise in same-store sales for July, excluding gasoline, falling short of estimates for a 5.7% increase. The company said foreign currencies had a slightly negative impact. It was the first time in five months that Costco's sales have increased less than expected. Costco's total revenue for the month increased 9% to $8.55 billion.

San Francisco -- Continuing its global growth, Gap Inc. on Monday announced that it will introduce the Gap brand to Slovenia and Austria through agreements with new and existing franchise partners. Magistrat International, a new partner, has been selected for the launch of Slovenia. Gottex, which currently manages the Gap franchise business in Israel and Hungary, will launch Austria.

San Francisco -- Williams-Sonoma announced the hiring of Ronald R. Young as senior VP global. Young will grow the portfolio of Williams-Sonoma brands outside the United States.

Gap and Banana Republic may have had soft sales in June, but performance at the company’s Old Navy brand saved the day.

The company reported an increase of 1% in June sales compared with last year. Net sales for the five-week period ended July 5 were $1.54 billion compared with net sales of $1.53 billion for the five-week period ended July 6 last year.
 

Los Angeles -- Drybar, the leading blowdry-only salon concept, has received a $20 million investment led by SPK Capital and existing investor, Castanea Partners.
 

Conshohocken, Pa. -- Ikea is planning to raise the hourly minimum wage for employees in its U.S. stores by an average 17%, beginning January 1, 2015. In a move unprecedented among U.S. retailers, Ikea’s wage hike will vary in that it will be based on the cost of living in each store’s location. According to Ikea, the change will take the average minimum hourly wage in its existing U.S. stores (as of June 2014) to $10.76, a $1.59 or 17% increase, and $3.51 above the current federal minimum wage.