Gap enters Central America

San Francisco -- Gap Inc. is expanding its footprint in Latin America. Leveraging its franchise model, the company has opened its first stores in Panamá and plans to introduce its brands to three additional Latin American countries: Colombia, Uruguay, and Peru.



As part of its existing agreement with Superior Retail Inc., Gap has opened two stores – a Gap and Banana Republic – side by side, in the Albrook Mall in Panamá City – the largest mall in Panamá. The company expects to open three additional stores in Panamá in 2012 – two Gap and one Banana Republic - as part of its agreement with Superior Retail Inc.



In other related developments:

• Also via its agreement with Superior, Gap expects to open its first stores in Colombia in Bogota, and Medellin, later this year.


• Through an existing agreement with Komax, Gap Inc. plans to expand its presence in Chile in 2012, opening its first Banana Republic store this summer and two additional Gap stores later this year.


• Gap Inc. has signed a new agreement with a subsidiary of Neutral to bring Gap to Uruguay in 2012.


• The company has also signed an agreement with a subsidiary of Komax to bring Gap to Peru in 2013.

“Latin America hosts some of the fastest-growing retail markets in the world with extremely high brand recognition for both Gap and Banana Republic,” said Stefan Laban, managing director of strategic alliances for Gap Inc. “This, combined with the tremendous response to the launch of Gap in Chile, makes us confident there is significant opportunity for our brands in Colombia, Peru, and Uruguay, as well as other countries in the region.”