The Gap, Inc., is an American multinational clothing and accessories retailer with stores located in several countries. Gap was founded by Donald Fisher and Doris Fisher in 1969, in San Francisco, California. The company has five main divisions: Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic, Athleta, and Piperlime. Gap is also the largest apparel retailer in the world and the largest specialist retailer in the United States.
The first Gap store opened by Donald and Doris Fisher in San Francisco was a store that dealt with Levi’s and LP records. The store was started with a mere $63,000 (USD) and within the first year of operations reached $2 Million (USD) in sales. In 1970, the company opened the second store in San Jose, California, with its headquarters based in Burlingame, California. Within four years of starting the business, the company had over 25 stores and had expanded into the East Coast market, and in 1974, the company began to sell private-label merchandise.
Gap has over 3,500 stores located in the US and other countries, with over 170,000 employees. The first Gap store in the United Kingdom opened in London in 1987. Gap operates stores in the US, UK, Canada, France, Ireland, Australia, Korea, China, Japan, and Brazil.
