warehousenow

The history of Old Navy chain.

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  Don’t you just love to shop? Well, not everyone likes to shop, but for those who do, Old Navy has a special place in their hearts. The Old Navy store retail store has a special place in everyone’s heart. Gap Inc is the owner of the Old Navy chain. In Northern California in 1994 the first stores were opened. Another 57 stores were opened by Old Navy in the next year.
The man who started Old Navy, Ken Rapp, was visiting Paris France . He and a friend stopped by a little cafe named Old Navy cafe.  The name interested them. They chose it as the name of the store. They opened seven stores in Quebec, 12 in Toronto, six in Puerto Rico and another six in Montreal by 2004.By 2005, Old Navy had a new president, Dawn Robertson.
She saw companies like Hollister and American Eagle Outfitters as competition. For this reason she decided on re-branding Old Navy. To reflect the “New Old Navy” several stores were remodeled and a new logo designed. The new building design had large murals, green buildings and rock gardens. The rebrand wasn’t very successful. The owners had Dawn Robertson removed The pejorative “New Navy” is used to describe this era.So as to be more fun and family orientated the Old Navy began anew branding campaign.  Project ONE this was called. This brought about a new look which catered to mom and pop and the kids.
 With vibrant colors and brighter lights, it also featured a better layout for shopping. An efficient cash system with quick change stations were featured.The stores are still seen as been All-American, tough the clothing stock is got from outside the USA. They sell a shirt every year which features the American Flag. With the stores in Puerto Rico, the shirts have a flag of Puerto Rico on them.Adults and teens wanting to save money are a target of Old Navy. More so than Gap they feature affordable clothing. Its features special sections for infants, boys, girls, men, and women. Also accessories like hats, bags and sunglasses are featured.
They’ve even included a line of clothing and toys for dog.  They even tend to hire young adults in their store. The young and hip can apply for work there.By 2002, the chain had 842 stores. Many of the new stores are in Canada for most of growth has taken place. The Old Navy brand makes up about 40% of revenue for Gap. The idea of being the mainstay of Gap is where they want to be in the future.  If based on their history so far, this will definitely happen.