Gap Inc. said Wednesday it will focus its growth strategy around the Old Navy and Athleta chains going forward.
And, the company said it will concentrate its expansion in the channels where customers are shopping – namely online and value. It will shed locations in low productivity specialty channels.
Old Navy and Athleta combined will open 270 new locations over the next three years and the company will close 200 Gap and Banana Republic stores, for a net gain of 70 stores.
The company also plans to streamline operations, which is estimated to eventually save $500 million annually.
Both Gap and Banana Republic, which have been underperforming, will still have many stores in North America after the closures, however.
At the end of July, Gap North America had 834 stores and Banana Republic had 596.
Old Navy and Athleta had 1,051 and 133 stores, respectively, in North America.
