Gap makes another India attempt

13 July 2022, Mumbai:

American fashion brand Gap is now riding on Reliance Retail for its second innings in India. Reliance’s formidable presence is expected to aid Gap in quickly scaling up product distribution network in the country.

However, the American specialty apparel company needs to strike a balance between brand image and pricing strategy to make a compelling proposition for the price-sensitive Indian consumers.

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Gap opened its first store in India in 2015 but gained little traction. It lost out to other international fast-fashion brands which were perceived as aspirational premium brands with more trend-led ranges. By late 2020, Gap terminated its franchise agreement with Arvind Fashions and permanently closed all stores in India.

Reliance Retail now plans to introduce Gap’s apparel offerings in India through a multichannel strategy, comprising exclusive brand stores, multi-brand stores, and online sales.

Gap can leverage Reliance’s manufacturing capabilities to produce goods for the Indian market instead of importing them, thereby lowering prices and reducing potential disruptions due to supply chain issues. This should enable Gap to attract value-driven Indian consumers.

Gap’s re-entry into India coincides with the company’s plans to either revamp or divest its Chinese business, which has been underperforming due to an ill-thought retail strategy and Covid-19 headwinds.

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