For the first quarter Gap net sales were down two per cent compared to the first quarter of the previous year. Comparable sales at Gap were down 10 per cent for the quarter versus down four per cent the same time last year.

Following its disappointing 2019 first quarter earnings, Gap is launching a children’s apparel-focused plan to turn the business around. Gap’s push into more children’s-focused marketing is a strategic one for the brand, considering the growth of the children’s clothing market. Gap is reinvesting in marketing, and its children’s and baby business, with a strong back-to-school push later this year.

Gap has been struggling to find its identity over the past few years. It needs to do the hard work of defining its own core message. While the brand has been known as an iconic brand and advertiser over the last 25 years, it has to work harder today to connect with children and their parents in its marketing. There has been a lack of innovation from the brand in terms of product, especially a time when new direct-to-consumer brands are taking over and fast fashion companies churn out new trends weekly. In a world where fashion and trends are rapidly evolving, the clothing in Gap stores today is much the same as what it was ten or 20 years ago.