California Apparel News

Retail giant Gap Inc. announced results for its second fiscal quarter 2019 on Aug. 22. Its net sales were $4 billion, but its comparable same-store sales declined 4 percent, said Art Peck, president and chief executive officer of Gap Inc.

“We are operating in a challenging environment, but I remain confident in the strength of our brands and our plans for the future as we work to launch two independent public companies,” said Peck.

In February, Gap made news when it announced that it planned to spin off its Old Navy division into a separate public company. “Heading into the second half of the year, we remain highly focused on inventory and expense discipline to improve results as well as delivering exceptional product supported by powerful marketing to drive customer engagement,” said Peck.

During the second quarter, same-store sales for Gap’s Old Navy Global division declined 5 percent. For the Gap Global division, which is focused on the Gap brand, same-store sales declined 7 percent. Comparable sales for its Banana Republic Global division declined 3 percent.

The announcement came during a week of some mixed earnings announcements for other public specialty retailers and department stores. Urban Outfitters Inc. announced Aug. 20 that its same-store sales declined 3 percent during its second quarter 2019. Macy’s Inc. missed Wall Street forecasts when its same-store sales dipped 0.3 percent earlier this month. But Target Corp. gave the retail market a shot of confidence Aug. 21 when it announced a same-store sales increase of 3.4 percent for its second quarter earnings.

Retailers are waiting to see if the important back-to-school season will lift retailers’ fortunes for the second half of 2019, said Jeff Van Sinderen, an equity analyst for the Los Angeles–headquartered B. Riley FBR.

“Overall, the consumer continues to be positive,” he said. “It’s a robust environment when you combine bricks-and-mortar and e-commerce.”