Gap's Brazil Expansion Faces A Big Problem With The Seasons
Brazil is a key market because shoppers there have much more disposable income than ever before.
But all along Gap has faced a major obstacle: the southern hemisphere, which has the opposite seasons to most Gap stores. That means that by the time its winter in Brazil, the seasonal trends at Gap's American stores have come and gone.
The opposite seasons aren't as much of a challenge to a fast-fashion retailer like Zara because its supply chain is faster, making it easier to adopt trends, Euromonitor International wrote when Gap opened in Brazil in 2011.
But Gap is producing its trendy basics on a much larger scale and is still adapting to the times. In order to woo Brazilians, it needed to keep an eagle-eye on merchandise and what was selling.
Gap first tested the waters by offering clothing to duty-free shops.
And now, Gap plans to open more many more stores, a Gap executive told Bloomberg's Christiana Sciaudone.
“We don’t come to Brazil to open three stores,” said Stefan Laban, Gap's managing director of strategic alliances. “It’s going to be many more than that.”
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