Old Navy sales boost Gap Inc. in Q4

Old Navy navigated a big wave of sales during the holidays as Gap Inc. continued to try to revive its namesake Gap brand, with lackluster results.

The apparel retailing company reported that for the fourth quarter, same-store sales rose 11% and total sales rose 12% at Old Navy; company wide at Gap Inc, same store sales rose only 2%.

The company posted fourth quarter net income of $319 million, or 75 cents per share, on $4.71 billion in revenue. Analysts expected a profit of 74 cents per share on $4.7 billion in revenue. A year earlier the retailer earned $307 million, or 68 cents per share, on $4.58 billion in revenue.

“Looking ahead at 2015, we will continue executing our global growth strategy, bringing new digital capabilities to life and making the shifts necessary to consistently deliver the brand-right, emotional product that our customers expect from all of our brands,” said Art Peck, CEO of Gap Inc. “I’ve moved quickly to assemble a talented team of leaders who share my sense of urgency and, together, we’re focused and ready for the year ahead.”

For the full fiscal year, Gap’s profits fell 1.4% to $1.26 billion. Revenue rose 2%, to $16.4 billion. Same-store sales fell 5% at Gap’s namesake, rose 5% at Old Navy and were flat at Banana Republic. The company ended fiscal 2014 with 3,709 stores in 50 countries, of which 3,280 were company-operated. Square footage of company-operated stores was up 2.4% compared with the end of fiscal year 2013.

The company also announced that it is bringing back Wendi Goldman, creator of Victoria’s Secret “Pink” marketing/merchandising campaign, as executive VP of product design and development, effective March 16. Goldman, a 25-year industry veteran, most recently served as chief product office at C. Wonder, and also spent more than 10 years at the then-Limited Brands (now L Brands) where she headed Victoria’s Secret’s Pink line and also worked on the Express brand. Goldman served in product design for Gap’s Banana Republic banner in the 1990s. Technically Goldman is filling a new role. However, Gap did terminate Rebekka Bay as creative director in January 2015, eliminating her job title in the process.