News Briefs

Gap Inc. is making a change on the day that marks its 55th anniversary. 

The apparel retailer, whose brands include Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic and Athleta, said it is changing its ticker symbol from "GPS" to "GAP". Effective on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024,  the company's common shares will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the new symbol "GAP".

On Aug. 22, the same day that the original Gap store opened in San Francisco in 1969, company team members will mark the occasion by ringing the NYSE opening bell. In another nod to its heritage, the company will dress the trading floor in Gap denim and 1969 sweatshirts, reminiscent of 1987, when Gap Inc. took over the NYSE for its first casual Friday, dressing traders in khakis and casual button-down shirts provided by Gap.

"Updating our NYSE ticker symbol to GAP on our 55th anniversary recognizes both an important milestone and the reinvigoration journey we're on — inspired by our past, engaged in the present, and eager to shape the exciting evolution of our house of iconic American brands," said Richard Dickson, who took the reins as president and CEO in August 2023.

[READ MORE: Gap Inc. names toy executive as its next CEO]

No action by the company's shareholders is required regarding the ticker symbol change. The company's common stock will continue to be listed on the NYSE and its CUSIP number will remain unchanged.

In addition, the company will host a conference call to review its second quarter fiscal 2024 results on Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024, beginning at approximately 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time.

Gap’s fiscal year 2023 net sales were $14.9 billion.  

Omni Retail Enterprises continues to build its C-suite.

The parent company of Pier 1.com, DressBarn.com, Bodybuilding.com and other brands named Nancie Samet as chief merchandising officer. She will lead the portfolio’s brand management, global sourcing, strategic marketing and channel selling strategy. 

Samet joins Omni less than two months after the company named Sharon M. Leite, former CEO of The Vitamin Shoppe, as chief executive.

Samet spent most of her career in senior management positions at Macy’s and Saks Fifth Avenue covering a range of categories from ready-to-wear, accessories and jewelry to intimate apparel and home goods. She has also worked with luxury firms such as Lagos Jewelry and with 1Concier, a hospitality B2B firm. She has a track record of driving substantial growth through reinventing business models, building and rebranding businesses, according to a release by Omni.

Omni Retail Enterprises is a new company that acquired most of the assets from Retail Ecommerce Ventures. (REV is no longer an operating entity.) It is the parent company of Bodybuilding.com, Pier 1.com, DressBarn.com and Mentorbox.com, and also owns the intellectual property of Modell’s Sporting Goods, Franklin Mint, SteinMart, Linens-N-Things and Ralph & Russo.  

“Nancie brings to Omni a breadth of knowledge and experience that’s critical to our transformation strategy,’ said Leite. “She has vast experience in brand building, product development, innovation and driving revenue growth in multi-channel environments. Her talents in forging vibrant vendor relationships and strategic partnerships will be crucial to the revitalization of our product assortments and consumer experience.”

Boot Barn Holdings reported an upbeat first quarter during which it exceeded the high end of its guidance across every metric.

The lifestyle retailer of western and work-related footwear, apparel and accessories for men, women and children reported that its net income rose to $38.9 million, or $1.26 earnings per share, for the quarter ended June 29, up from $34.3 million, or $1.13 per diluted share in the year-ago quarter.

Net sales rose 10.3% to $423.4 million from $383.7 million. Same-store sales increased 1.4%, with an increase of 0.8% in retail store same store sales and an increase of 6.7% in e-commerce same store sales.

“The sequential improvement we have seen in consolidated same store sales growth not only continued into the first quarter but grew consistently from month to month within the quarter itself,” stated Jim Conroy, president and CEO, Boot Barn. “We are encouraged by the building sales momentum we have seen, particularly while maintaining our low promotional posture.”

Boot Barn opened 11 stores during the quarter, bringing its total store count to 411 locations in 46 states. It expects to open 60 new stores for the year.

The company raised its full-year outlook. It now expects total sales for fiscal 2025 between $1.816 billion to $1.850 billion, representing growth of 8.9% to 11% over the prior year. This is up from its previous guidance of total sales for the year of $1.766 billion to $1.800 billion, representing growth of 5.9% to 8% over the prior year.

“Looking forward, despite the potential macroeconomic challenges, we remain steadfast in maintaining our focus on our strategic initiatives and feel that we are well-positioned for long-term success,” Conroy said.

Uniqlo is buying part of the building housing its New York City flagship on Fifth Avenue.

Vornado Realty Trust said that  its 52%-owned retail joint venture has entered into an agreement to sell the Japanese clothing giant a portion of its U.S. flagship store at 666 Fifth Ave. in Midtown Manhattan that is owned by the joint venture for $350 million.

The joint venture owns the fee condominium interest in 17,295 sq. ft. (with 6,477 sq. ft. at grade level) of Uniqlo’s 90,732-sq.-ft.store. In conjunction with the closing, the pass-through leases between the office condominium owner and the retail joint venture will be terminated.

The joint venture will continue to own 23,832 sq. ft. of retail space (with 7,416 sq. ft. at grade level) at the site, consisting of the Abercrombie & Fitch and Tissot stores.

All of the estimated $340 million of net proceeds from the sale are expected to be used to partially repay Vornado’s $390 million of preferred equity on the asset.

The recent slowing of consumer store traffic is creating challenges for the food-away-from-home indsdustry — but for some industry segments more than others.

The total restaurant category — including full-service and limited-service restaurants — is projected to grow 0.5% in 2024 on top of 0.8% last year, according to the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association’s latest 2024 and 2025 Food Away-From-Home Industry and Segment Projections. 

Quick-service restaurants, which have performed significantly better in recent years than other segments overall, are projected to grow 0.7%. The fast casual segment shows bullish growth of 1.3% percent, a positive adjustment compared to the February projection of 0.9%.

IFMA also revised its projection for casual dining to flat growth, compared to 0.5% in February, with the change reflecting the consumer trade down to lower cost occasions, the group explained. Midscale restaurants are the only major restaurant segment where IFMA projects a decline of 0.7%.

On-Site Segment

Collectively, on-site segments in 2024 are projected to grow 2%, largely because their recovery from 2020 was slower than that of restaurants. The college & university and lodging segments are expected to lead on-site growth at 2.0% and 2.8%, respectively. 

The business and industry segment continues its slow recovery, although overall volume is still well below pre-pandemic levels.

IFMA has revised its overall 2024 price inflation rates down from 5.0% in February to 3.8%, reflecting a slowdown in costs of goods sold by FAFH operators.

The IFMA forecast models were created in conjunction with Datassential, a leading foodservice research firm, and validated by operators from the five IFMA Foodservice Leadership Councils.

Walmart’s dominance in grocery continues to grow. 

According to data from Numerator, the retail giant captured 21.4% of grocery dollar share during the past 12 months (7/1/2023 to 6/30/2024). That’s up from 20.8% in the year-ago period. 

Kroger was a distant second, capturing 8.9% of dollar share for the period, down from 9.2% in 2023.

Numerator’s list of the top five grocery retailers by dollar share is below. (Numerator’s new grocery market share view now includes all FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods), specialty, and e-commerce retailers and looks at all grocery sectors except alcohol.