Gap Aims to Fill the Gap

Huge retail news today that Gap has selected its next CEO, Richard Dickson, to lead the charge on turnaround efforts.

As a leader who has spent most of his career in CPG, where knowing your target consumer inside out is critical to business success and sometimes its survival, I’m excited to see the changes Richard makes. He’s a logical choice because Gap has strayed from its identity. At the heart of it, Allbirds story is similar where the lack of focus on its core identity and brand promise led to misfires. During the pandemic summer of 2020, I had some thoughts about the strategic changes I would make at Gap. Maybe I’ll write an update to this soon.

Now is a great time for the flagship brand to right the ship — a time when its Gen-X loved classics like loose cotton chinos and button downs are resonating with style mavens. Looking forward to seeing what Richard and team do next.