Global Markets
Home›Global Markets›China›Gap plans 50 new mainland China stores after localizat…
Gap plans 50 new mainland China stores after localization turnaround
Gap expects 10 new outlets to open in the second quarter as it uses a China-for-China strategy backed by Baozun’s takeover of its China operations in early 2023.
Gap is pursuing growth in China as some foreign fast-fashion rivals scale back, with plans to open 50 new stores in mainland China this year and return to Hong Kong by year-end following a localization overhaul.
The strategy has been tied to changes to Gap’s China operations after Chinese e-commerce operator Baozun took over Gap’s mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau business in early 2023. Since then, the company has recorded its first profit in the fourth quarter of last year, according to SCMP Economy.
SCMP Economy reports that Gap posted 20 percent same-store sales growth in China for the first quarter, a record high. It also said the plan covers openings across first-tier to third-tier cities, plus the Tibet autonomous region, with 10 outlets expected in the second quarter, based on Baozun’s first-quarter earnings report in late May.
An analyst at LeadLeo Research Institute, Wang Tianshi, said foreign companies need “radical and structural localisation,” including flattening organizational structures and devolving decision-making to local teams, as reported by SCMP Economy.