Gap Inc.

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Gap Inc.
Type Public
Genre Apparel Design & Retail
Founded 1969
Founder(s) Donald G. Fisher
Headquarters San Francisco, USA
Key people Glenn Murphy (Chairman & CEO)
Industry Apparel
Revenue USD 15.9 billion (Feb. 2007) [1]
Net income USD 778 million (Feb. 2007) [2]
Employees 154,000 [3]
Website http://www.gapinc.com

The Gap Inc. operates as a specialty retailing company in the United States and internationally. The company operates retail and outlet stores that sell casual apparel, accessories, and personal care products for men, women and children under the Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic, Piperlime, and Forth & Towne brand names. Its products include denim, khakis, T-shirts, shoes, intimate apparel, and accessories. As of February 3, 2007, the company operated approximately 3,131 stores in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Ireland, and Japan. [4]

Company History

The first Gap store was opened in 1969.

Historical Financial Information

Business Strategy

Political and Public Influence

Paragraph information

Political Contributions

Lobbying

Corporate Accountability

Co-op America profile: "Gap brand stores are so popular that a shopping center without a Gap or its subsidiaries, Banana Republic and Old Navy, is a rare sight. Gap has used its popularity to promote pro-diversity measures and encourage community involvement, and the company is now an EPA Climate Leader. Gap has also developed a supplier code of conduct to address unethical labor issues, however, sourcing from non-compliant factories continues to be a problem for the company. Examples of Gap's labor abuses include mandatory and unpaid overtime work; sub-poverty wages; and unhealthy working conditions. Gap is showing an interest in addressing labor violations but it needs to apply greater energy and solicit stronger efforts from industry cohorts to make lasting changes. Measurable results from such interest remain to be seen."

Labor

History:

  • 1992: Sourcing Guidelines developed outlining general labor standards for vendors
  • 1996: hires first vendor compliance staff
  • 1999: establishes indpendent Global Compliance department
  • 2002: Global Compliance department starts to focus on stakeholder dialogue and engagement with local organizations
  • 2003: joins Social Accountability International's corporate involvement program and United Nations' Global Compact
  • 2004: joins Ethical Trading Initiative
  • 2004: publishes first social responsibility report
  • 2005: joins Joint Initiative on Corporate Accountability and Workers Rights (Jo-In) Turkey Project, which seeks to develop a streamlined approach to codes of conduct and monitoring [5]. Other participants include adidas, Hess Natur, Marks and Spencer, Nike, Patagonia and Puma.

Campaigns against company:

Major reports:

Maquila Solidarity Network. 2006. "Transparency Report Card"

Human Rights

Environment

  • "Our Code of Vendor Conduct outlines our expectations regarding factories' environmental practices and policies. One principle requires factories to develop an environmental management system. In 2005, all of Gap Inc.'s Vendor Compliance Officers received environmental management system training so they could help factories comply with this requirement. To ensure that factories understand the importance and benefits of a strong environmental program, our efforts currently focus on helping them develop and implement these systems. Our hope is that all factories we work with will have an acceptable environmental management system in place by late 2007." [9]
  • "We have implemented a water quality program for all denim laundry facilities that handle our products. We also partnered with CH2M HILL to develop a program that measures denim laundries' effluent against Business for Social Responsibility's (BSR) Water Quality Guidelines. If a facility's effluent fails to meet BSR's strict standards, we prescribe corrective action steps to help it come into compliance. All denim laundry facilities that we work with now participate in our program." [10]

Consumer Protection and Product Safety

Anti-Trust and Tax Practices

Social Responsibility Initiatives

Business Scope

Brands

  • Gap
  • Banana Republic
  • Old Navy
  • Piperlime

Customers

Gap Inc. retails only through its own stores.

Suppliers

Identified suppliers:

Competitors

Customers Suppliers Creditors Competitors
Customer 1 Supplier 1 Creditor 1 Competitor 1
Customer 2 Supplier 2 Creditor 2 Competitor 2
Customer 3 Supplier 3 Creditor 3 Competitor 3
Customer 4 Supplier 4 Creditor 4 Competitor 4


Financial Information (as of DATE)

Ticker Symbol: GPS
Main Exchanges: NYSE
Investor Website: http://gapinc.com/public/Investors/investors.shtml

List of largest shareholders

34% of shares held by founding Fisher family. [11]

[12]

Shareholder % Total Shares held
Shareholder 1 % Held 1
Shareholder 2 % Held 2
Shareholder 3 % Held 3
Shareholder 4 % Held 4

Largest Shareholders

Geographic scope paragraph

Country Revenue Profits Assets Employees
Country 1 Revenue 1 Profit 1 Assets 1 Employees 1
Country 2 Revenue 2 Profit 2 Assets 2 Employees 2
Country 3 Revenue 3 Profit 3 Assets 3 Employees 3
Country 4 Revenue 4 Profit 4 Assets 4 Employees 4

Governance

Executives

Board members & affiliations

  • Howard P. Behar (director of Shurgard Storage Centers, Inc. and Starbucks Corporation)
  • Adrian D.P. Bellamy (chairman of The Body Shop International plc., chairman of Reckitt Benckiser plc.; director of Williams-Sonoma, Inc.
  • Domenico De Sole (director of Delta Air Lines, Inc., Newell Rubbermaid, Inc. and Telecom Italia)
  • Donald G. Fishder, Founder and Chairman Emeritus (Director of the Charles Schwab Corporation)
  • Doris F. Fisher
  • Robert J. Fisher
  • Penelope L. Hughes (director of Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB, Reuters Group plc, and Home Retail Group)
  • Bob L. Martin, Lead Independent Director (CEO of Mcon Management Services, Ltd., director of Conn's, inc. and Furniture Brands International, Inc.)
  • Jorge P. Montoya (director of Rohm & Haas Company and the Kroger Co.)
  • Glenn K. Murphy, Chairman and CEO
  • James M. Schneider (executive chairman Frontier Bancshares, Inc.; director of General Communication Inc. and Lockheed Martin Corporation)
  • Mayo A. Shattuck III (Chairman, President & CEO of Constellation Energy Group; director of Capital One Financial Corporation)
  • Kneeland C. Youngblood (co-founder and managing partner of Pharos Capital Group, LLC; chairman of board of American Beacon Funds; director of Burger King and Starwood Hotels and Resorts)

Date & venue of next AGM

May 2008


Contact Information

2 Folsom St.
San Francisco, CA 94105
U.S.A.
Tel: 1-650-952-4400
http://www.gapinc.com

Articles and Resources

Books on the Company

  • Nevaer, Louis E.V. 2001. Into - and out of - the Gap: a cautionary account of an American retailer. Westport, Conn." Quorum Books.

Related SourceWatch Articles

Business for Social Responsibility

Sources

  1. http://www.hrw.org/wr2k/Issues-03.htm
  2. http://www.cleanclothes.org/urgent/pt-tae2.htm
  3. National Post (Canada), May 18, 2002.
  4. The Independent (London), October 29, 2007. First edition, p. 4.

External Resources

External Articles