San Francisco — Continuing its global growth, Gap Inc. plans to introduce the Gap brand to Serbia and Ukraine in 2011 with new stores opening in Belgrade and Kiev.
San Francisco — Continuing to deliver on its global growth plans, Gap Inc. plans to introduce the Gap brand to Serbia and Ukraine through new agreements with existing franchise partners. The stores are scheduled to open in 2011 in the cities of Belgrade and Kiev where customers will be able to shop products from Gap, GapKids and babyGap.
“We look forward to bringing Gap’s distinctively American aesthetic to consumers in Ukraine, which is considered the fastest growing retail market in Eastern Europe, and Serbia with its young customers who love to shop,” says Stephen Sunnucks, president, international, Gap Inc. “With few international brands on the scene today, both markets underscore the effectiveness of our fast and flexible business model to successfully execute our global expansion strategy.”
Over the last 5 years, Gap Inc. has grown its franchise store base to about 180 and expanded from two to 24 countries throughout Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Australia. Now the company has franchise agreements in place to bring its brands to 28 countries, including Chile and Egypt, in fiscal year 2011. The company plans to double its number of franchise stores to 400 by fiscal year 2015.
Gap is planning to open its first store in Serbia in the capital city of Belgrade later this year. Serbia is the sixth country to be managed under Gap Inc.’s franchise agreement with The Marinopoulos Group, one of Greece’s leading retail, commercial and industrial firms. The group also manages the company’s franchise locations for Gap brand in Greece, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus and Romania.
Last year, Gap Inc. first made its products available to customers in Ukraine online through the company’s international shipping provider. Gap expects to open its first store this June in the capital city of Kiev. The store will be in a 9,000-square-foot space on Kreschatik Street, one of the city’s most famous and busiest streets. The country has the fifth largest retail market in Eastern Europe. Ukraine is the third country to be managed under Gap Inc.’s franchise agreement with Fiba Holding A.S., which also manages the company’s franchise locations in Turkey (Gap brand and Banana Republic) and Russia (Gap brand).
Gap Inc. is a leading global specialty retailer whose brands include Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Piperlime and Athleta. For more information, please visit www.gapinc.com.