Case Study

Gap was the former leader of the apparel industry. It experienced a downfall which took place due to a series of factors. For years, Gap sold most of what it carried in stores. It was led by a man with a radar-right sense of style. Micky Drexler, the iconic CEO who helped turn Gap’s button down shirts and khakis into America’s uniform. Drexler’s team had spot-on tastes throughout the 90s, but when sales declined in the early part of this decade, Drexler was left guessing on ways to revitalize the brand but he guessed wrong. He decided to chase the youth market and filled Chasing the youth market, Drexler filled Gap stores with miniskirts, low rise jeans and leather pants. The throngs of teenagers he sought to attract never showed up, and the shift in offerings sent Gap’s mainstay customers to retailers that easily copied the styles that Gap made classic. He basically forgot his main stay customers and the sales declined and the profits vanished.

Normally it means that in order to have the low-cost bid, contract firms compromise on safety, ignore environmental concerns, employ child labor, and engage in other ghastly practices.

Despite the fact that Gap audits contract manufacturers and has a high standard for partner conduct, it has repeatedly been taken to task by watchdog groups, the media, and its consumers when reports exposed unacceptable work conditions that Gap failed to catch. This includes the Oct. 2007 video showing Gap clothes made by New Delhi children as young as 10 years old in what were described as ‘slave labor’ conditions.

From idea to appearances in the stores it took Gap a months and they were also lacking in variety. They didn’t do their ground work well enough unlike Zara which used personal digital assistants to gather customer input on what they would like more of in the stores.

From the above it is clear that the other companies are doing much better than Gap.

Operations strategy

Operations strategy in a business organization...