Gap outlines omnichannel growth strategy
Owning the shopping experience of the future is how Gap chairman and CEO Glenn Murphy described the motivation behind a wide range of omnichannel strategies he and other senior executives shared during an annual meeting with investors.
Murphy and Gap’s top division heads provided an overview of strategic initiatives designed to achieve long-term, profitable growth across its portfolio of brands and also highlighted how the company plans to use technology, innovation and scale as competitive advantages as it looks to deliver a world class omnichannel experience.
“We have the world’s best collection of American brands coupled with a strong economic model and runway for global growth,” Murphy said. “As the retail landscape evolves, we continue to deliver on our omnichannel roadmap and focus on owning the shopping experience of the future.”
Doing so means building on the company’s current omnichannel capabilities such as reserve in store, find in store and ship from store. Later this year, the company will be testing a new order in store capability, which allows customers instant access to expanded product offerings online. In addition, the company said it was expanding its reserve in store service to all Gap stores in the United States by the end of the second quarter.
In addition to upgrading its omnichannel capabilities, Gap said it plans to gain share in a global apparel market it values at $1.4 trillion by expanding in Asia, growing its global outlet, online and franchise businesses and its newest retail brand Athleta.
“In the next five years, we plan to leverage our scale to drive our strategic initiatives including global growth plans, omnichannel strategies, a seamless inventory model and fully responsive supply chain. We expect these initiatives to contribute meaningfully to our revenue growth and operating profit,” Murphy said.
In addition to Murphy and Gap CFO Sabrina Simmons, other top executives participating in the investor meeting included; Art Peck, president of growth, innovation and digital, Sonia Syngal, EVP of global supply chain, Tom Keiser, EVP of global product operations, Jeff Kirwan, president of greater China, Steve Sunnucks, global president of Gap, Jack Calhoun, global president of Banana Republic and Stefan Larsson, global president of Old Navy.