Comments on: THE GAP’S INNOVATION EFFORT http://sharkride.com/blog/2006/01/16/the-gap-and-its-innovation-effort/ A Wm. Matthew Jaunich presentation of innovative concepts. Thu, 21 Aug 2008 00:09:50 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.1 By: SHARKRIDE http://sharkride.com/blog/2006/01/16/the-gap-and-its-innovation-effort/#comment-11 SHARKRIDE Sun, 29 Jan 2006 18:50:00 +0000 http://sharkride.com/blog/2006/01/16/the-gap-and-its-innovation-effort/#comment-11 [...] As a supplement to my suggestion to Gap that they offer a way for people to design their own apparel, I have discovered several companies that are offering customized product opportunities. [...] […] As a supplement to my suggestion to Gap that they offer a way for people to design their own apparel, I have discovered several companies that are offering customized product opportunities. […]

]]> By: Josh Spear http://sharkride.com/blog/2006/01/16/the-gap-and-its-innovation-effort/#comment-10 Josh Spear Mon, 23 Jan 2006 20:38:09 +0000 http://sharkride.com/blog/2006/01/16/the-gap-and-its-innovation-effort/#comment-10 Where are you located? They did some test-stores here in Colorado, and I actually found them to be quite a change. It's sad that they still don't 'get it' and are afraid to be down right remarkable-- but they're moving in the right direction. Question is, how fast can they do it? Where are you located? They did some test-stores here in Colorado, and I actually found them to be quite a change. It’s sad that they still don’t ‘get it’ and are afraid to be down right remarkable– but they’re moving in the right direction. Question is, how fast can they do it?

]]> By: Tyler http://sharkride.com/blog/2006/01/16/the-gap-and-its-innovation-effort/#comment-8 Tyler Wed, 18 Jan 2006 04:01:51 +0000 http://sharkride.com/blog/2006/01/16/the-gap-and-its-innovation-effort/#comment-8 There's an excellent post on a Yahoo GPS finance message board: "Redesign Stores? That would be like telling GM and Ford that their showrooms are the problem." There’s an excellent post on a Yahoo GPS finance message board:

“Redesign Stores? That would be like telling GM and Ford that their showrooms are the problem.”

]]> By: Jon http://sharkride.com/blog/2006/01/16/the-gap-and-its-innovation-effort/#comment-7 Jon Wed, 18 Jan 2006 02:04:32 +0000 http://sharkride.com/blog/2006/01/16/the-gap-and-its-innovation-effort/#comment-7 Who can forget the Sarah Jessica Parker ads! The bad aftertaste from that annoying commerical still lingers. Who can forget the Sarah Jessica Parker ads! The bad aftertaste from that annoying commerical still lingers.

]]> By: Scott Kobayashi http://sharkride.com/blog/2006/01/16/the-gap-and-its-innovation-effort/#comment-6 Scott Kobayashi Tue, 17 Jan 2006 00:36:48 +0000 http://sharkride.com/blog/2006/01/16/the-gap-and-its-innovation-effort/#comment-6 Excellent post, Matt. A few thoughts. First of all, as someone who doesn't normally shop at malls, I had no idea Gap was re-doing their stores. If this is a big a deal as it sounds, they need to let people know somehow. Whenever a company as big as Gap decides to drastically change things, even I (not a Gap customer) am curious to see what's going on. Get people in the stores and get them talking about it. Second, they need to stop not only the singing and dancing ads as Matt pointed out, but the use of celebrities all-together. It's condescending to customers and let's face it, we all know that none of them would ever be caught dead in a Gap. Gap needs to somehow emphasize the uniqueness of the individual, and highlight how it is that they can help people express themselves. Matt, you hit on this beautifully and Gap is definately behind the curve in that area. Lastly, I think Gap should take a long hard look at what American Apparel is doing. Realistically speaking, AA is the company shaking things up the most in the retail world. The differences are that AA has an emotional story behind it (they make everything in LA and pay their workers good wages), their ads utilize REAL people instead of celebrities, and their all-white stores highlight the colorful clothing. I don't know if it's possible for Gap to come up with an emotional story, maybe highlight the company's history when it wasn't such a huge corporate giant. I think that maybe sizing down the stores would help as well. Again, anything that can be done to make Gap seem less like a giant will be a good move for them in the future. Excellent post, Matt. A few thoughts. First of all, as someone who doesn’t normally shop at malls, I had no idea Gap was re-doing their stores. If this is a big a deal as it sounds, they need to let people know somehow. Whenever a company as big as Gap decides to drastically change things, even I (not a Gap customer) am curious to see what’s going on. Get people in the stores and get them talking about it. Second, they need to stop not only the singing and dancing ads as Matt pointed out, but the use of celebrities all-together. It’s condescending to customers and let’s face it, we all know that none of them would ever be caught dead in a Gap. Gap needs to somehow emphasize the uniqueness of the individual, and highlight how it is that they can help people express themselves. Matt, you hit on this beautifully and Gap is definately behind the curve in that area. Lastly, I think Gap should take a long hard look at what American Apparel is doing. Realistically speaking, AA is the company shaking things up the most in the retail world. The differences are that AA has an emotional story behind it (they make everything in LA and pay their workers good wages), their ads utilize REAL people instead of celebrities, and their all-white stores highlight the colorful clothing. I don’t know if it’s possible for Gap to come up with an emotional story, maybe highlight the company’s history when it wasn’t such a huge corporate giant. I think that maybe sizing down the stores would help as well. Again, anything that can be done to make Gap seem less like a giant will be a good move for them in the future.

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