Gap Here This Week

The Gap is opening four large stores in China. The grand launch party for the American brand is this Friday. The two Beijing stores are at Xidan’s Joy City and on Wangfujing street. Here is a more detailed overview of Gap expansion plans in China. As I have mentioned before, Gap is a late entrant to this market compared to European fast fashion brands. I am curious to see the product mix and price point. Will the items be cut slimmer for the China market?

我们美国的Gap终于到了中国。这个品牌在这里会成功吗？这里的剪裁会不会比在美国的合体一点？

Young fashion consumers in China are more trend-conscious than their American peers, so it will it will be interesting to see how they take to Gap, which offers comparatively conservative, somewhat wholesome, designs. Will it appeal to mainstream affluent consumers or be more of a niche brand for fans of that positive, classic American style?

I heard that the Gap in Shanghai is next to LV, Cartier, and other luxury brands. This is notable because, despite its ubiquity in the US, it is actually a brand with more of its own identity than Zara, H&M, C&A, etc., and Gap Inc. is often described as the “world’s largest specialty retailer”. I think they will have appeal to consumers seeking the Gap lifestyle rather than merely the latest fashions at the lowest price. They will be attracting people with quality and notions of classic style rather than ever changing products and low-cost.

The marketing is sure to be ambitious. In the November issues of major fashion magazines, Gap’s first ad campaign for the China market includes two fashion blogger types, Julia Frakes from the US and Momo Wang for China.

For more information on Gap, check out their strategic plan, highlighting more store growth in China and Italy, and this WSJ article discussing what Gap represents in the global economy.

Gap的新广告很有意思因为他们用了中国和美国的模特包括两个写博客的女孩：美国时尚博主Julia Frakes和兔斯基作者王卯卯。