In 2018, the apparel retailer Gap, Inc. employed around 135,000 individuals, a figure which has stayed more or less constant since 2016.

The Gap, Inc.

The Gap was founded in San Francisco, California in 1969 and is now a major international clothing retailer which also owns and operates Old Navy, Banana Republic, and Athleta, to name a few. Old Navy operates around 1,139 locations in North America, making it the largest of the stores brands. In 2018, The Gap, Inc. generated net sales of around 16.6 billion U.S. dollars, an increase from 15.9 billion U.S. dollars the previous year.

U.S. Clothing Shopping Behavior

According to a 2017 survey of consumers in the United States, 52 percent of respondents indicated that they prefer to buy their clothing, shoes, or accessories from the brand Nike, making it the most popular apparel brand in the United States. Levi’s and Adidas also ranked highly in that survey. For the majority of Americans, once they have found a clothing brand they enjoy, they tend to keep purchasing clothing from that brand. Only 35 percent of Americans indicated they felt no loyalty to any clothing brand.