Gap

Gap is dropping its small Piperlime online brand so the apparel maker and retailer can focus on fixing the problems bedeviling its much bigger namesake and Banana Republic brands. Piperlime, which Gap founded in 2006 as a rival to Amazon.com's Zappos.com, sold shoes, clothing and accessories via e-commerce and through a store in New York's SoHo district. But it never caught on with a wide audience beyond its core, dedicated customers, and its revenues never topped $100 million, a drop in the bucket for a company with annual sales exceeding $16 billion.

Gap has struck a deal with Zalando, Europe's largest dedicated online fashion retailer, to sell its core brand starting next May in the hopes of reaching more consumers, particularly in markets where it has no physical stores. Gap already delivers to 24 European countries from its own website and has more than 200 stores on the continent, but is not present on the ground in key markets such as Germany. Berlin-based Zalando started out selling shoes in 2008 and now ships 1,500 brands to customers in 15 European countries.

Gap Inc. incoming Chief Executive Officer Art Peck is overhauling management at the ailing Banana Republic and Gap brands. Jeff Kirwan, 48, will replace Stephen Sunnucks as global president for the Gap chain in December, and Andi Owen, 49, will succeed Jack Calhoun on Jan. 5 as global president for Banana Republic, the retailer's upscale chain. The move marks Peck's first major decision since CEO Glenn Murphy said last month that he will step down in February. 

Old Navy becomes the latest brand to find itself embroiled in a plus-size controversy. It's under fire for charging women more for plus-size jeans, sizes 16 to 30. Men, meanwhile, pay one price for a pair of denim no matter the size. A Change.org petition — which has already gathered over 25,000 supporters — notes the price disparity can be up to $15 for women. For years, plus-size women have paid higher prices because manufacturers claim more fabric leads to higher production costs. But the petition argues this doesn't hold true if manufacturers and retailers are discriminating between genders.

Kate Spade has been all over the news recently. Whether it be for its partnership with Gap Kids, clever "under construction" window shopping or viral holiday ads featuring Anna Kendrick, the handbag and accessories retailer has had a busy last few months. Not to mention the company posted a 48.7 percent increase in net sales in its latest fiscal quarter. However, while its marketing strategy is smart, it's Kate Spade's excellent customer service that's going to win over shoppers this holiday season.

Gap's new tagline, introduced a few months back, is "Dress normal." But the retailer knows your family is anything but — particularly at the holidays. Having launched the new positioning with David Fincher in August, Gap moves on to another Hollywood director, Sofia Coppola, for a stylish and quirky holiday campaign from Wieden + Kennedy in New York. The four ads are endearingly weird, with storytelling that's more about momentary glimpses into the charms and foibles of family life than traditional plots.

Still scarred from last year's shipping disasters — customers not receiving their orders (i.e., gifts) before Christmas despite being guaranteed they would at the time of purchase — online retailers are taking a more cautious approach to holiday shipments this year. Staples, Macy's, Gap, Pottery Barn, Kohl's and Nordstrom were just some of the brands that broke their Christmas delivery promises last year when carriers UPS and FedEx were overwhelmed with last-minute orders. It seems retailers have learned their lesson and are preparing to avoid a repeat of last year.

San Francisco-based Gap Inc. signed deals to open Old Navy stores in six countries in the Middle East next year. Franchisees Fawaz A. Alhokair & Co. and Azadea will open the new stores beginning in the U.A.E., Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Gap has had Gap and Banana Republic stores in the region since 2007. "Entering the Middle East is an important milestone in our strategy to share Old Navy with a broader, global customer base," said Robert Frank, executive vice president of Old Navy International, in a company statement. 

I believe that merchants are very important to a retail organization. They shape the future of their company with innovative and creative ideas. They're always on the lookout for new fashion trends. They visit stores and designers to learn and see the future. Fashion leadership starts at the top and then permeates the whole store organization. Whether it's a color, new look or new allocation of space, it's the merchant who will decide. Some of retail's top merchants I admire include Mike Gould, Roger Farah, Mickey Drexler and Karen Katz.

Gap hasn't shied away from making a statement. Last year, its #makelove campaign promoting diversity featured a Sikh model and a gay couple, among others, repping the brand, which stood its ground against a bigoted backlash. But these days Gap seems a little lost with its #dressnormal campaign. With several print, digital and social elements, the campaign for banality has been aggressively promoted online, as well as experientially in pop-up shops as part of the "Dress Normal Project" in five cities. But the campaign doesn't appear to have the intended result on sales.