Gap Inc. plans in the second half of 2005 to launch its first new chain in a decade, a specialty clothing retailer aimed at women over 35 years old, the Wall Street Journal said on Wednesday, citing Gap Chief Executive Paul Pressler.
"We'll start with 10 stores and see where it goes," Pressler told the newspaper in an interview on Tuesday. "When we think about growth strategies, we are looking for opportunities that are going to meaningfully add to our growth, given the size of our company."
San Francisco-based Gap, the largest U.S. specialty clothing retailer, last year reported net income of $1.03 billion on revenue of $15.9 billion, a securities filing shows. Its chains include Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy.
The new chain will be run by Gary Muto, the president of Gap's U.S. division, and will sell clothes "for a range of occasions" for baby-boomer women, the newspaper said.
The nearly 40 million U.S. women born from 1946 to 1964 have few apparel stores geared solely to them.
Gap said its stores capture roughly 7 percent of overall U.S. apparel sales, but just 3 percent from female baby boomers, the newspaper said.
In the interview, Pressler declined to say where the stores will be located or what they will look like, or what the chain will be named. He said the chain won't be a derivative of its current brands.
Gap shares closed Tuesday at $20.02. They began the year at $23.21.
