GAP, an established fashion retail store since 1969, has stealthily changed its iconic blue box to a a smaller blue exo-box to the right as its logo. GAP’s change of logo reveals its new strategy to change its market positioning from a preppy American image to a modern and sleeker look. On the web, consumers negatively criticized GAP’s stupidity to ruin its classic and iconic brand identity that took it twenty years to build.
Has GAP taken a wrong turn at the fork in the road?
Rebranding is a business strategy in which GAP hopes will resolve its dropping share price and falling sales. Thus, GAP plans on opening a new market of consumers who are in search of more contemporary styles. Unfortunately, GAP has underestimated the power of H&M and ZARA who has strongly positioned themselves in the “modern, sexy and chic” sector of the retail industry. I believe that GAP has taken a wrong strategy because its original reputation of American heritage is suddenly lost as the new logo leaves faithful consumers confused and outraged at GAP’s decision to change without consulting or notifying their opinions. Now that GAP has repositioned itself in a new territory of the retail industry, GAP may risk losing its current fans while failing to capture the target market.
Through the change of their logo, GAP has abandoned its puzzled customers in the dust by venturing into a different and risky direction whereby consumers are unwilling to follow. From the massive stir of discontent from consumers on the Internet, GAP’s path of choice at the fork in the road will inevitably be a rocky journey.
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