Gap Inc. was once the king of mall-brand fashion. In recent years though, its Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic and Athleta chains have been outmaneuvered by discount stores like Target and fast-fashion brands like Zara and Shein. Ryan Knutson speaks with the new CEO Richard Dickson who is translating his previous experience resurrecting the Barbie brand into a new era for the iconic clothing seller. Further Listening: - Rent the Runway’s CEO on How it Survived the Pandemic - Shein: Fast Fashion, Slow IPO - How Target Got Off Target Photo: Uncredited Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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In the 1990s, the Gap was cool. So cool that supermodels wore shirts and jeans by the retailer on the cover of Vogue magazine. Actress Sharon Stone wore a Gap mock turtleneck to the Academy Awards. And then there were those popular commercials with all the dancers bopping around in khakis and t-shirts.
But for the last two decades, things were not looking too good for the Gap Inc., the parent company, which includes Gap and sister companies Old Navy, Banana Republic, and Athleta. Its sales slumped as it faced stiff competition from rival mall chains like American Eagle and fast fashion brands like H&M and Zara. To illustrate just how stagnant the company has been, consider this.
Gap stock has been essentially flat over the last 20 years, while the S&P 500 is roughly quadrupled. But recently, things have begun to turn around. Over the last two years, as of March, gap stock is up over 130%. And the person behind that turnaround is CEO Richard Dixon. Dixon joined the company in 2023 after working at Mattel, where he helped revitalize another beloved American brand, Barbie.
And he was at the helm during Barbie's big Hollywood debut, having served as executive producer on the Barbie movie. Now, Dixon is trying to find the same success at Gap. But with the economy facing new headwinds and consumer confidence taking a nosedive, can Dixon pull off the comeback? Welcome to The Journal, our show about money, business, and power. I'm Ryan Knutson.
Coming up on the show, a conversation with Gap CEO Richard Dixon on how he's bringing the roughly 55-year-old company back to life and the challenges that still lie ahead. Richard, thanks so much for joining us. Thank you, Ryan, for having me. So my first question is, how much of your current wardrobe is Gap?
Well, I say it is head to toe on a daily basis. It's not just Gap. We have Old Navy, Banana Republic. I even throw in a little athletic there every once in a while. But ultimately, brand fan, head to toe all day long. I can't believe how many denim shirts and jeans I have now.
Did you own any denim shirts before you became the CEO of Gaps?
I did, but I never really understood the complexity of how many versions of a denim shirt there really are. And now I really, I can tell you anything you want to know about a denim shirt. Fit, feature, function, philosophy, wash, color. Heavy, light.
All right. So we could talk about denim all day, but I want to talk about your job and the challenges that you've been facing and the work that you've been doing as a CEO of Gap. So I want to start just when you took over the brand. When you became CEO of Gap Inc. in August of 2023, what did you see as the biggest challenge the company was facing?
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