Abstract
Sonia Syngal was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Gap Inc. in March of 2020. In an interview with the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Syngal directly addressed the 70% loss of revenue and $140 million in cash spending per week that occurred at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and how she plans to lead the executive leadership team to redefine their purpose. Syngal emphasized the decision to become “inclusive by design” and to use that as Gap’s guiding North Star as it makes decisions, both big and small, going forward.
Gap, previously known as The Gap Stores, Inc., seeks to become the most inclusive company in the world through implementing an action plan focused on strengthening employee, customer, and community belonging. The company uses something called the Authenticity Equation as a framework for its inclusive decision-making. The framework uses three components of authenticity – a considered approached, a connected process and output, and consistent engagement – to ensure Gap’s brands and products manifest its promise.
Implementation of this framework is mapped out in Gap’s Power Plan 2023 strategy, a three year vision put forth to grow purpose-led billion-dollar lifestyle brands that shape people’s way of life and deliver consistent growth through omni-dominance, an approach to sales that integrates distribution, promotion and communication to provide customers with a seamless shopping experience.
Although Gap has faced and still faces a great deal of volatility and uncertainty brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and intense market competition, things are improving. In fact, Gap had $16.7 billion in revenue in the fiscal year ending in January 2022, slightly higher than pre-COVID revenue. The company also turned a fiscal year loss of $665 million in 2021 into a gain of $256 million in 2022. Can Gap continue to recover and perhaps become a fashion brand leader once again?
Document Type
Case Study
Publication Date
2022
Publisher Statement
Written by Jeffrey S. Harrison, Caroline Broadfoot, Julie Farmer, and Surabhi Vittal at the Robins School of Business, University of Richmond. Copyright © Jeffrey S. Harrison. This case was written for the purpose of classroom discussion. It may be duplicated or cited for educational purposes without obtaining permission from the authors.
Recommended Citation
Harrison, Jeffrey S., Caroline Broadfoot, Julie Farmer, and Surabhi Vittal. Gap, Inc. Case Study. University of Richmond: Robins School of Business, 2022.
