Gap, Inc.

By Scott Klatsky, director of retail leasing, Time Equities, Inc.

New York City is the world’s retail hub — and within the city are major opportunities for retail expansion.

In fact, Time Equities, Inc., has availabilities all over Manhattan — from Greenwich Village/NYU to Midtown to Upper West Side to Tribeca to Financial District ... even Brooklyn Heights.

Premium denim brand True Religion named former top executives from Levi Strauss & Co., and Gap inc., to its board of directors.

The purveyor of premium products said John Anderson and Marka Hansen agreed to serve on its board. Anderson spent 32 years at Levi Strauss & Co, ultimately serving as president and CEO while Hansen previously spent 24 years at Gap and most recently served as president of Gap North America.

As the retail industry begins to offer shoppers the omnichannel experience they demand, brick-and-mortar stores have never been more important.

This is especially true as it relates to power centers, broadly defined as open-air shopping centers that feature multiple national anchors such as discount department stores, off-price stores, warehouse clubs and other retailers that tend to offer a wide selection in a particular merchandise category at value prices.

San Francisco -- Gap Inc. plans to open five franchise-operated Old Navy stores in the Philippines in 2014. The first two Old Navy stores will open in Manila in March and there are plans to open three more stores in the second half of the year for a total of five Old Navy stores in 2014.

The first of two Old Navy stores, a dedicated three-story building, will open in the heart of Manila’s fashion and shopping district, Bonifacio High Street, on March 22. The second store will open in the prominent Glorietta mall on March 29.

San Francisco – Gap Inc. had a disappointing February 2014 as net sales and same-store sales declined, compared to the same month in the prior year. Net sales fell 4% to $929 million from $966 million, while same-store sales dropped 7%.

TAIPEI -- Gap will officially open its first Taiwan flagship store on March 8 as part of its ongoing strategy to expand Gap’s global footprint. With plans to open about 30 Gap stores across its Greater China region, including three in Taiwan, the brand expects to have more than 100 stores by the end of fiscal 2014.

New York -- Phoenix-based Sprouts Farmers Markets Inc. is expanding. The natural-foods supermarket chain expects to open 22 to 24 stores in fiscal 2014, including five locations in the Atlanta area.

Sprouts currently operates more than 165 locations in eight states.

Meanwhile, Gap Inc. continues to expand its newest banner, Athleta, with about 30 additional U.S. stores on tap for fiscal year 2014.

In more store expansion news:

San Francisco – Gap Inc. reportedly plans a substantial increase in its Gap and Old Navy store count in China during the next several years. Reuters reports that Gap plans to add 30 stores to its existing 81 Chinese locations.