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Gap Founder Dies at 81

Mark Ellis — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 03:23:25 +0000

Donald Fisher, the famed creator of the popular clothing retailer, The Gap, has died of cancer at age 81. Despite the fact that he was the creator of one of the most well-known clothing retailers in the world, Don Fisher was not known as a merchant or fashion designer, but rather as a talented business leader.

Fisher was responsible for spreading the San-Francisco-based retailer to malls and urban centers across the United States by hiring a group of talented businesspeople and creating an iconic brand. As the most profitable brand clothier in the U.S. during the 1990s, Gap would also acquire Banana Republic and Old Navy.

With 3,145 stores and $14.5 billion in sales last year, Gap Inc. is one of the largest clothing retailers in the world, much of its success owed to Fisher’s nearly 40-year stint as the chief executive and then chairman of his company. According to other members of the company, Fisher was active in Gap affairs up until the last year of his life.

Image: Flickr

Post from: EveryJoe

Gap Founder Dies at 81

Gap 2Q Profits, Sales Fall

Mark Ellis — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 02:44:59 +0000

Despite the fact that it narrowly beat analyst expectations, casual clothing retailer Gap Inc. has posted a second-quarter profit drop of 0.4 percent off the heels of weaker sales in all four of its division. The results come as Gap continues in its efforts to complete a successful turnaround, reinvigorating its brand and maintaining a smaller inventory.

Gap has faced stiff competition from trendier and flashier rivals such as Aeropostale and The Buckle, both of which managed to post strong results thanks to their success with younger shoppers. However, Gap hopes to combat the growing competition by focusing on advertising and marketing.

Earnings are down from $229 million last year to $228 million this year with a net sales decline of 7.3 percent to $3.24 billion. Same-store sales have dropped 8 percent, falling continuously across all of Gap’s divisions. Banana Republic, one of Gap’s more exclusive brands, had a 15 percent drop in sales, while Old Navy managed to post the smallest drop in sales at only 4 percent.

Image: Flickr

Post from: EveryJoe

Gap 2Q Profits, Sales Fall

BICEP Adds Three New Members

Allison Boyer — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 22:59:22 +0000

Lisa Jackson, Image: Newscom

The Business Coalition for Innovative Climate and Energy Policy (BICEP) announced today that three new members would be joining this organization, which was started four months ago by Ceres. Joining founding companies Timberland, Nike, Sun Microsystems, Starbucks, and Levi Strauss are Gap, eBay, and Symantec.

The new members were introduced at a business breakfast and policy forum, hosted by Ceres at the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C. The group hopes that by joining forces, they’ll have a louder voice in calling for strong U.S. climate and energy policies over the next year. EPA administrator Lisa Jackson opened the forum today, saying,

“Leadership from the business community is essential to our success in protecting human health and the environment. BICEP is pioneering change, and proving every day that the environmentally sound thing to do is also the economically sound thing to do. We are here to partner with you so that we can lay the foundations for that change together, and bring our shared vision to life.”

Some of the goals of the coalition are to help pass legislation consistent with key principals, which include:

Setting aggressive GHG reduction levels
Establishing a economic cap-and-trade system that auctions off all carbon allowances
Doubling the historic rate of energy efficiency improvement
Creating green-collar jobs
Adopting renewable energy standards

Founder Ceres is a coalition of investors, environmental groups, and organizes that works to address global climate change.

Post from: EveryJoe

BICEP Adds Three New Members

Who’s My Audience?

Bob Turek — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 10:00:57 +0000

I write about what I am interested in. My experience and passion are about helping executives innovate and execute strategies through projects. The types of projects that fascinate me are those that enable business processes through technology in an extremely valuable way.

So, who is my audience? I would think anyone who, like me, is involved with performing projects, linking projects to strategies, and those defining, assessing and carrying out projects and strategies. It’s not just large companies. Small companies, even two man software firms, can benefit from the discussion generated here.

One thing is becoming clear: there is a gap between IT and business management that can be closed through engaging and communicating. Proof of that are my frequent conversations with ActiveEngine- if you look at some of these you will see the productive and valuable give and take that can take place in a blog environment. Take a look at these posts (1, 2, 3) to see. Better yet, let me know how you feel, what you think, and what you know from your perspective.

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Post from: EveryJoe

Who’s My Audience?