The Gap, Incorporated (NYSE: GPS) is an American clothing and accessories retailer based in San Francisco, California, and founded in 1969 by Donald Fisher and Doris F. Fisher. The company has five primary brands: Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Piperlime and Athleta. As of September 2008, Gap Inc. has approximately 150,000 employees and operates over 3,100 stores worldwide. Gap Inc. remains the largest specialty apparel retailer in the U.S., though it has recently been surpassed by the Spanish-based Inditex Group as the world's largest apparel retailer.[2]
Despite its publicly-traded status, the Fisher family remains deeply involved in Gap Inc.'s business. Donald Fisher served as Chairman of the Board until 2004; when he stepped down, he was succeeded by his son, Robert J. Fisher. Both Donald and Doris Fisher remain on Gap Inc.'s Board of directors, and the Fisher family collectively owns a significant portion of the company's stock.[3]
Glenn K. Murphy is the current CEO of the company. Previous Gap Inc. CEOs include Millard Drexler and Paul Pressler.
In 1969, Donald Fisher opened the first ever Gap store on Ocean Avenue in San Francisco. The store's merchandise consisted of Levi's blue jeans and records and tapes; however, the audio products were sold for a mere three months before being removed from the store.[citation needed]
By 1970, Gap's sales had reached $2 million and a second store was opened in San Jose, California. Along with this second store Gap established its first corporate headquarters in Burlingame, California, employing only four employees. Gap continued to expand rapidly and by 1972-1973, had grown to over 25 stores and had expanded to areas outside of California and was entering the East Coast market with its store in Voorhees, New Jersey. In 1974, Gap began to sell private label merchandise in its stores.
1975 saw the creation of the chain of stores which specialized in selling discounted apparel, as well as the acquisition of "You & You" which had formerly been a New England-based casual apparel brand.
1976 was a landmark year for Gap with the company going public in both the New York and Pacific stock exchanges with an initial public offering of 1.2 million shares. With the arrival of 1977 Gap introduces the labels "Fashion Pioneers", "Eaton Hill", and "Foxtails" which are sold in its stores. The company also launches two sub-brands; "Logo," based in California and Missouri, as well as "Brands" based in New York and New Jersey. In this year also, Gap moves its headquarters from Burlingame to San Bruno, California.
1980 saw the incorporation of the "Brands" and "Pants %ff" chains into Gap's new "Tagg's" chain.
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