Saturday, May 9, 2015

Can Ellen turn things around for GapKids?



The Gap has been struggling for several years now to find its place in the world of retailing.  (Sales were down 7% last quarter.) 

Now they have announced that this year's back-to-school effort for girls will feature a new collection from Ellen DeGeneres.  The  line labeled GapKids x ED, ties into Ellen's lifestyle brand ED, which includes women's clothes, accessories and home decor.

What do you think?  Will this bring back women who have left the brand due to its style missteps?


Mahoney, S. (2015, May 7) Gap, Ellen Team Up For Girls' Line  mediapost.com.  Retrieved May 8, 2015, from

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Ike Boruchow's analysis of GAP Inc.'s prior missteps with their female clientele seem to foreshadow the future of this partnership with Ellen Degeneres' ED line. Ellen's high Q-score and likability ratings as a Daytime TV host notwithstanding, I don't believe she personally resonates with this line's prospective clientele. If Gap had chosen someone like Ariana Grande or some other pop culture icon of that generation they would might have greater success.

Anonymous said...

I think GAP's strategy for improving their Gap Kids line is skewed from what they really need to be doing. Here, we see the firm collaborating with Ellen to produce a line for Gap Kids. However, are children wanting to wear Ellen clothes? At the same time, I don't believe that parents are going to be motivated to buy Ellen clothes for their children either. It is an odd strategy and I think Gap should have used a celebrity more in line with their children demographic- perhaps a popular star from Disney Channel. If the firm simply wants to improve its sales, a collaboration with Sara Jessica Parker would be much more effective. I don't see Ellen as a fashion icon, therefore, I find it hard to give the new clothing line credibility.
Bradley