Sears Chairman Buys Stake in Gap
Edward Lampert, the investor best known for merging Kmart Corp. in 2005 with Sears Roebuck Co. and now its chairman, announced he and his affiliated investment firms have acquired a 5.8 percent ownership stake in Gap Inc.
Lampert’s new stake in the San Francisco–based Gap, the largest specialty retailer in the United States and whose nameplates include Banana Republic and Old Navy, is just the latest turn in dramatic news for the company.
On Feb. 2, Gap announced that Art Peck was named president of Gap North America, replacing Marka Hansen, who had led Gap North America since 2007. She has resigned. For the last three years, Peck was responsible for the healthy growth in Gap’s outlet centers.
Gap also announced in early February that its creative center would now be in New York to help build its business in Europe and Asia as well as at recently opened stores in China and Italy. To support the move, the company announced it selected a new advertising agency, Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide, and named Seth Farbman as the new global chief marketing officer for Gap brands.
Gap stock climbed 6.1 percent to $22.78 on Feb. 15.—Andrew Asch
