American clothing retailer Gap's sales down 13% to $3.5 bn in Q1 FY22

In the first quarter, online sales declined 17 per cent compared to last year and represented 39 per cent of total net sales. Store sales declined 10 per cent compared to last year. The company ended the quarter with 3,414 store locations in over 40 countries, of which 2,825 were company operated, the company said in a press release.

“Our Q1 results and updated fiscal 2022 outlook primarily reflect industry-wide headwinds as well as challenges at Old Navy that are impacting our near-term performance. While we are disappointed to deliver results below expectations, we are confident in our ability to navigate the headwinds and re-stabilise the Old Navy business in order to deliver continued progress on our long-term strategy,” said Sonia Syngal, CEO, Gap Inc. “We believe that we can navigate this period of acute disruption and build an even more resilient and agile company. We remain anchored by our belief in our iconic purpose-led brands – Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic, and Athleta – and are focused on making continued progress against our Power Plan strategy and getting back on track toward delivering growth, margin expansion, and value for our shareholders over the long term.”

“We are revising our fiscal 2022 outlook to reflect the impact of certain factors impacting our near-term performance, including execution challenges at Old Navy, an uncertain macro consumer environment, inflationary cost headwinds, and a slowdown in China that is impacting Gap Brand,” said Katrina O’Connell, executive vice president and chief financial officer, Gap Inc. “We expect our performance to improve modestly in the back half of the year and accelerate as we enter fiscal 2023. We believe that our long-term strategy is the right one and we are taking steps to position our brands, platform and people to capitalize on the significant opportunities ahead.”

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (RR)