Gap (GPS)

Banana Republic: Jack Calhoun

With new merchandising and marketing leaders in place, Banana Republic is focused on better connecting with its target customer base. It will do this by rebalancing its product assortment to reflect its affordable luxury brand proposition, and through its marketing, work to reignite the core essence of the brand. The brand leaders recognize the product and marketing became “too serious” and “too heavily work focused,” and are working to create a more versatile wardrobe offering for the coming seasons that balances products more evenly across weekend, work and going out occasions.

Banana Republic: Jack Calhoun

2008 marked Banana Republic’s 30^th anniversary, and the division is focused on both near-term strategies to drive traffic and long-term positioning as a global, accessible luxury brand that can expand into new categories and geographies. As part of this, Banana Republic’s marketing aims to connect with its affluent, thirty-something, “city style,” professional demographic, by showing up where this audience congregates, both online and offline. Banana Republic’s top priorities for 2009 are driving traffic, increasing differentiation, and offering brand-right product. Banana Republic opened its first store in the United Kingdom earlier this year, and the company anticipates further growth opportunities in Europe.