Gap could close most of its stores in Europe

Things aren't going down smoothly for Gap. A statement published on the brand's website by the CEO, Mark Breitbard, announced to employees that the company is undergoing a "strategic review" of the entire European network of stores – it would say, in less diplomatic terms, the closure of all stores in the UK, France, Ireland and Italy and a drastic downsizing of the distribution network, which could even be entrusted to third parties.

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Il futuro è già qui. E loro lo stanno rendendo migliore. I nostri giovani attivisti stanno facendo sentire le loro voci e responsabilizzando gli altri ragazzi per creare un mondo migliore apportando cambiamenti reali. Celebra con noi, durante il prossimo mese, questi piccoli responsabili del cambiamento. Perché quando i bambini sono alla guida, il futuro è promettente. E inizia proprio adesso. @thetwitsband

A post shared by Gap Italia (@gap.italia) on Aug 17, 2020 at 9:24am PDT

The news comes after last June's announcement about the closure of more than 225 Gap and Banana Republic stores worldwide. It makes sense that Europe is the main theater of these massive closures as it corresponds to only 2% of the entire brand's revenue - a very low number, also considering the new hype that surrounded the brand in view of its next collaboration with Yeezy.

This data is part of the great retreat that the fast fashion world is making from the world of physical retail to transfer its business to the safest and cheapest digital spaces. A necessary move for a sector in crisis, which also shows the limits of collaborations that this year have been unable to raise the fortunes of brands such as H&M, Banana Republic and Gap itself.