Gap in new B2B business: making masks

Gap Inc. is going national with a new business-to-business division selling face masks. 

The apparel retailer has officially launched a B2B product program focused on selling high-quality reusable, non-medical-grade cloth face masks to organizations for their employees. To date, Gap said it has sold approximately 10 million cloth face masks to employers, including New York City, the State of California, healthcare company Kaiser Permanente and a leading consulting firm.

In a release, Gap said it has leveraged its deep supply chain relationships and agile operations to provide companies in both the private and public sector with high-quality reusable, non-medical grade cloth face masks for their employees. The non-medical face masks are available in mass quantities -- starting at a minimum order quantity of 100,000 units -- and in a variety of colors and swatches.  

The retailer noted it started selling masks to customers amid the pandemic, but eventually saw a bigger need.

“The Gap Inc. team was able to quickly respond to a customer need for masks,” said John Strain, head of e-commerce and technology at Gap Inc. “We quickly started hearing from companies like ours who wanted to be able to supply their employees with the same product, so we’re excited to extend our high-quality reusable, non-medical grade cloth face mask offering to organizations that want to help protect their employees as they re-enter the workforce.”

For businesses, To provide the service to companies, Gap used the Salesforce’s Quick Start for B2B Commerce solution  and partnered with  Capgemini to implement and service a custom website in less than five weeks that helps manage purchase orders and deliver information about the program to businesses.

In its release, Gap stresses that its face mask product is not medical-grade and is not intended as a replacement for medical-grade personal protective equipment. 

“This product makes no claims of antimicrobial protection, antiviral protection, particulate filtration or infection prevention or reduction,” the company said. “This product is not intended for use in a medical setting.”

Gap’s brands have also made donations to community organizations and causes during the pandemic, including the donation of more than 200,000 masks.
 

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