Gap, Banana Republic In Acadiana Mall Amongst Locations That Could Be Closing Soon

This may be the last holiday season for two staples in the Acadiana Mall.

A few weeks ago Gap Inc. CEO Art Peck announced that they were "considering the shutdown of hundreds of underperforming stores" and specified that the closures would come "with urgency."

There are hundreds of other stores that likely don’t fit our vision for the future of Gap brand specialty store, whether in terms of profitability, customer experience, traffic trends. There likely will be a cash cost to exit many of these stores, which we will attempt to minimize. But I plan to exit those that do not fit the future vision quickly. I’m going to move thoughtfully but aggressively.

This announcement isn't much of a surprise seeing that a 2017 report detailed their plan to close approximately 200 stores over the next three years. While the company's other brands (Old Navy, Banana Republic, etc.) have met or exceeded expectations, Gap store sales continue to underwhelm.

Addressing the bottom half of the fleet represents over $100 million of earnings contribution opportunity and it is that portion of the fleet that is dragging down the brand. This is the piece of the business that we are firmly committed to addressing with urgency.

While there has been no official announcement from Gap Inc. on specific locations being targeted for closure, multiple employees and managers at Acadiana Mall stores have told us they have been informed that the Lafayette Gap, babyGap/GapKids, and Banana Republic are set to shut their doors.

Our news team reached out to Gap Inc. with a number that was provided for press inquiries but has yet to receive a response.

It's important to note that this isn't necessarily a bad mark on our economy or the employees at these specific local stores, as the downfall of the Gap brand as a whole has been well documented.

These closures follow a shutdown of 200 Gap and Banana Republic Stores back in 2017 around this exact same time including Baton Rouge locations of each respective store in the Mall of Louisiana.

While the namesake of Gap Inc. is underperforming, the companies earnings continue to come from its Old Navy, Banana Republic, and Athleta stores boasting over 2,000 locations combined.

We will keep you updated as we hear more, but in the meantime take the opportunity to shop at these stores while you still can and be sure to look out for any upcoming sales.