A recent clothes shopping expedition with my 16 year old daughter proved quite illuminating. Having been dragged through the usual fashion haunts such as Hollister (still can’t figure out whether it’s designed to be a clothing retailer or a restaurant?), Topshop, American Apparel, Urban Outfitters and Superdry we found ourselves outside Gap.
I suggested it may be worth a look inside and was confronted by a look that can only be described as the Cookie Monster Death Stare! I was reliably informed that this brand was for nerds and losers possibly a demographic a few tiers above my own standing.
Over the next few days, this view was confirmed by taking a straw poll of around half a dozen of her friends to ensure this wasn’t a personal crusade and this got me thinking as to what Gap has done to your average modern day teenager in order to deserve this level of brand negativity?
One plausible answer might have been a shopping list going back 15 years ago…
During this time, I was fortunate enough to do a lot of business travel to the USA before my daughter was born and was regularly given a list of baby wear to bring back. The internet was in its infancy then, but products and designs were available to view online and armed with this information a visit to The Gap store in Dolphin Mall, Miami was a key feature on every trip itinerary. This went on for the next few years and a proliferation of Baby Gap followed by Gap kids merchandise became a dominant feature in the Soubhi household. So is this exposure to the brand from a young age the reason for this brand negativity 10 years after?
After the travelling stopped the brand loyalty (from a parental perspective at any rate) continued. After all the products were always well designed, made from quality fabric and whilst not cheap always good value for money. It seemed that Gap knew exactly what their positioning was in the early to mid-noughties.
Clearly in the eyes of today’s teenagers the brand is now seen as uncool but this may not be merely due to the brand being associated with childhood memories, it rather seems that marketing related forces are also at work. An excellent insight into what has contributed to this brand erosion is offered in this Guardian article .
Here there are clear signs that a combination of not continuing with innovative product designs coupled with forgetting who they were targeting has led to consumers being unclear what the brand really stands for. Suggesting a gap between Gaps’ perceived and actual positioning is in serious need of a review.
by Sas Soubhi
