Gap and Banana Republic to Close More Stores

More retail stores are set to close due to a major loss in revenue due to the coronavirus pandemic. Now Gap and Banana Republic have announced they will be closing triple the stores that they previously announced. It seems that every week we learn of more retail stores closing because of COVID-19. Lord & Taylor, Ann Taylor, Catherines, Lane Bryant, Loft, and Justice have all announced store closings across the country. We can now add Gap stores and Banana Republic.

According to News 10 ABC, Gap and Banana Republic had announced that they would be closing nearly seventy-five stores by the end of this year. Now they have adjusted their numbers and they will close two hundred twenty-five stores which are three times what they originally planned. This increase is due to the struggle of retailers during this pandemic.

Even though online sales for Gap increased nearly ninety-five percent, net sales were down nearly twenty percent and a forty-eight percent decrease in in-store sales.

It appears that most Gap and Banana Republic stores that are closing will be mall stores. There is a Gap and a Banana Republic store in Crossgates Mall. There are many outlet stores throughout the Capital Region in Saratoga Springs and Lake George, and in Lee, Massachusetts but it is unclear if these stores will be on the chopping block any time soon. The company strictly said that mall stores would be closing.