Old Navy

File:Old Navy HFX 2007.jpg, Halifax, Nova Scotia]]

File:Old Navy in Hillcrest Mall-Richmond Hill ON 2023.jpg]]

In the early 1990s, Dayton-Hudson Corporation (then the parent company of Target, Mervyn's, Dayton's, Hudson's, and Marshall Field's) looked to establish a new division branded as a less expensive version of Gap called Everyday Hero;{{cite web|url=http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/old-navy-inc-history/ |title=History of Old Navy, Inc. – FundingUniverse |publisher=Fundinguniverse.com |access-date=March 2, 2013}} Gap's then-CEO Millard Drexler responded by opening Gap Warehouse in existing Gap outlet locations in 1993.{{cite web|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=MWSB&p_theme=mwsb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB82B7BF0EC4FD4&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |title=JSOnline.com News Archives |publisher=Nl.newsbank.com |date=March 25, 1998 |access-date=September 4, 2012}}

On March 11, 1994, Gap Warehouse was renamed Old Navy Clothing Co. to establish a separate image from its parent company Gap Inc.Power, Gavin. "[http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/InfoWeb?p_product=AWNB&p_theme=aggregated5&p_action=doc&p_docid=0EB4F5BF10AE3D73&p_docnum=38&p_queryname=3 Gap Posts Best Sales, Earnings]". the San Francisco Chronicle. March 4, 1994. p. E1. The name was conceived after the other original proposed names, Monorail and Forklift, were disliked by Drexler, and decided upon the new name after seeing a building with the two words on it during a visit to Paris.{{cite web|url=https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1996/03/18/210628/index.htm |title=WILL OLD NAVY FILL THE GAP? |last=Caminiti |first=Susan |website=CNN Money |publisher=Cable News Network |access-date=September 30, 2022}} The new stores were about {{convert|15,000|sqft|sigfig=2}}, compared to less than {{convert|10,000|sqft|sigfig=1}} for Gap Warehouse stores. On March 11, 1994, the first Old Navy locations opened in the northern California towns of Colma, San Leandro and Pittsburg.{{cite web |url=http://www.oldnavy.com/customerService/info.do?cid=3337 |title=Women's & Men's Clothes: Plus Size, Maternity, Baby & Kids' Clothing |publisher=Old Navy |access-date=September 4, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081223151851/http://www.oldnavy.com/customerService/info.do?cid=3337 |archive-date=December 23, 2008 |url-status=dead }} According to Kevin Lonergan, Gap's director of stores, Old Navy stores were intentionally designed like grocery stores, with flowing aisles, shopping carts, and small impulse items near the checkout counters."[http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/InfoWeb?p_product=AWNB&p_theme=aggregated5&p_action=doc&p_docid=0EB4F5C2604DD423&p_docnum=48&p_queryname=3 Gap Makes Commitment To New Discount Chain - 3 'Old Navy Clothing Co.' stores will open today]". San Francisco Chronicle. March 11, 1994. p. B1. The cement floor, metal shelving, and checkout counters built from polished pressed board and galvanized metal gave the stores an industrial warehouse feel, while the colorful arrangements and large number of employees working set it apart from other discount clothing stores.Storm, Stephanie. "[http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/InfoWeb?p_product=AWNB&p_theme=aggregated5&p_action=doc&p_docid=0EAF4417DED81B2A&p_docnum=68&p_queryname=3 Old Navy launches new wave for Gap Inc.]" The Denver Post. May 31, 1994. p. E1. Later that year, 42 other Old Navy stores opened, and most of the 45 Gap Warehouse stores were renamed Old Navy.Power, Gavin. "[http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/InfoWeb?p_product=AWNB&p_theme=aggregated5&p_action=doc&p_docid=0EB4F5BF10AE3D73&p_docnum=38&p_queryname=3 Gap Posts Best Sales, Earnings]". San Francisco Chronicle. March 4, 1994. p. E1.

Old Navy had campy television ads featuring Carrie Donovan,Norwich, William. "[https://observer.com/1998/01/at-mortimers-with-carrie-donovan-the-old-navy-lady/ At Mortimer’s With Carrie Donovan, the Old Navy Lady]". Observer. January 26, 1998. Morgan Fairchild, and the mascot Magic, the dog.Emert, Carol. "[http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/InfoWeb?p_product=AWNB&p_theme=aggregated5&p_action=doc&p_docid=0EB4F79ED4AB1C56&p_docnum=530&p_queryname=3 Old Navy Launching 'Award-Winning' Ads]". San Francisco Chronicle. March 4, 1997. p. C1.

The Old Navy division grew quickly; in 1997, it became the first retailer to pass $1 billion in its first four years in business, and opened 500 stores by 2000. In 2001, Old Navy began its international expansion with the opening of 12 stores in Ontario, Canada.

The brand also experimented, opening a coffee shop inside one location in San Francisco in December 1995,Howe, Kenneth. "[http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/InfoWeb?p_product=AWNB&p_theme=aggregated5&p_action=doc&p_docid=0EB4F70C9CAEB3EF&p_docnum=298&p_queryname=3 Gap Opens Coffee Shop in Old Navy Store]". The San Francisco Chronicle. December 6, 1995. p. B1. and opening an Old Navy Kids location in Littleton, Colorado, in April 1997.Emert, Carol "[http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/InfoWeb?p_product=AWNB&p_theme=aggregated5&p_action=doc&p_docid=0EB4F7B2B028E71B&p_docnum=587&p_queryname=3 Old Navy Chain Is Trying Out Separate Shops For Kids' Togs]". San Francisco Chronicle. May 17, 1997. p. D1. This in turn did not work out for the company, and was terminated the following September.{{cn|date=October 2024}}

File:Old Navy logo.svg

In 2005, Old Navy's then-president Dawn Robertson looked to address the competition she saw in Hollister Co. and American Eagle Outfitters by rebranding the division with a "high fashion feel". In addition to a new logo, several locations were built or remodeled to reflect the "New Old Navy";{{cite web|url=http://www.sptimes.com/2007/11/21/Business/Old_Navy_trying_new_l.shtml |title=Business: Old Navy trying new look |work=St. Petersburg Times |access-date=September 4, 2012}} one such location in St. Petersburg, Florida cost roughly $5 million to develop. Unlike the traditional industrial warehouse style most Old Navy locations possess, the new stores were boutique in nature, featuring green building materials, rock gardens, large murals, and posters, as well as many mirrored and silver accents. Also, advertisements began to be created in-house, and substituted the original kitschy and humorous feel for a high fashion and feminine directive.{{cite web |url=http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/09_49/b4158034752445.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091129132343/http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/09_49/b4158034752445.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 29, 2009 |title=Old Navy May Still Be at Sea |work=Businessweek |date=November 25, 2009 |access-date=September 4, 2012}} These stores proved to be a disappointing investment and Robertson was asked to leave the company.

In 2011, Old Navy began a second rebranding to emphasize a family-oriented environment, known as Project ONE. It targets Old Navy's target customer (the fictional "Jenny", a married mother of at least one child) and features better lighting, vibrant colors, layouts that make shopping easier, quick-change stations, and a more efficient cash wrap design. By July 12, 2011, one third of the company's North American locations had adopted the redesign.{{cite web|last=Holmes |first=Elizabeth |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704533904574543491085948948 |title=Old Navy's Renewed Zest Is Likely to Lift Gap |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=November 18, 2009 |access-date=March 2, 2013}}

File:Police car pulls over driver in New York.jpgIn 2012, after several years of Old Navy losing sales to rival retailer H&M, Gap Inc. hired H&M executive Stefan Larsson to run its Old Navy division. Larsson instituted a number of changes, including hiring designers away from Coach, Nike, Reebok, and North Face to design exclusive Old Navy clothing. By 2015, Old Navy's yearly sales had reached $6 billion per year in the United States, almost equaling those of Gap Inc.'s Gap and Banana Republic divisions combined.{{cite web|title=Old Navy Thrives After a Style-Conscious Rebirth |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/18/business/old-navy-thrives-after-a-style-conscious-rebirth.html |first=Hiroko |last=Tabuchi |author-link=Hiroko Tabuchi |work=The New York Times|date=May 17, 2015|access-date=July 18, 2015}} Larsson left the company to join Ralph Lauren in 2015 and was replaced by current President and CEO, Sonia Syngal.{{Cite news|url=http://www.gapinc.com/content/gapinc/html/media/pressrelease/2016/med_pr_ONpresident_41316.html| title = Sonia Syngal Appointed to Lead Old Navy's Next Phase of Growth}}

On October 26, 2017, Old Navy opened two new flagship stores (one in Times Square). The Times Square flagship caters to New York City crowds with extended store hours and significantly more retail space than the average Old Navy location.{{Cite news|title=Gap and Old Navy open flagship stores in Times Square|language=en-US|work=aDressed {{!}} Gap Inc.’s blog|url=https://adressed.gapinc.com/blog/2017/10/25/gap-old-navy-time-square-flagship|access-date=2017-12-20}}

On April 23, 2018, a customer, Saudia Scott filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit against Old Navy and its parent company Gap Inc. The lawsuit states that on July 25, 2016, Old Navy manager Megan Yost watched and assisted Scott with her purchases at the Old Navy store located in Abingdon, Harford County, Maryland. As Scott walked to her car, two police officers followed, detained and returned Scott to inside the store after Yost falsely accused Ms. Scott of theft and shoplifting. Manager Yost was terminated almost immediately as a result.Scott v. Old Navy, LLC, et al., 18-cv-1189, U.S. District Court for Maryland; on appeal, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, Case No. 20-1253.
A jury trial is scheduled for June, 2023.{{Cite web |title=Scott v. Old Navy, LLC et al, No. 1:2018cv01189 - Document 96 (D. Md. 2020) |url=https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/maryland/mddce/1:2018cv01189/420076/96/ |access-date=2025-04-09 |website=Justia Law |language=en}}

In 2019, Gap Inc. announced that Old Navy would exit China in 2020.{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-gap-china-idUSKBN1XV2MC|title=Gap's Old Navy brand to exit China in early 2020|date=2019-11-21|work=Reuters|access-date=2019-11-24|language=en}}File:Old Navy.jpg

On February 28, 2019, Gap Inc., announced that Old Navy and Gap Inc. would split into two companies, making Old Navy an independent company from Gap Inc.{{Cite web|url=https://corporate.gapinc.com/en-us/articles/2019/02/gap-inc-announces-plan-to-separate-into-two-indepe|title = Gap Inc. Announces Plan to Separate into Two Independent Publicly Traded Companies}} The move was designed to enable the consolidation of the company's older brands, like GAP and Banana, with its newer Athleta and Hill City.{{Cite web|title=Gap and Old Navy are splitting up|url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/28/business/gap-old-navy-separate/index.html|last=Meyersohn|first=Nathaniel|date=2019-03-01|website=CNN|access-date=2020-05-19}} This decision was reversed on January 16, 2020, when Gap Inc. announced that the separation had been aborted.{{Cite web | url=https://corporate.gapinc.com/en-us/articles/2020/01/gap-inc-no-longer-pursuing-separation-of-old-navy | title=Gap Inc. No Longer Pursuing Separation of Old Navy}}

• In 2013, Gap Inc. ranked 5th among specialty retailers in the list of World's Most Admired.{{ cite web|url=https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/most-admired/2013/list/?iid=wma_sp_full|title= 2013 awards}}
• Members of Business for Innovative Climate and Energy Policy (BICEP){{ cite web|url=http://www.ceres.org/bicep |title= BICEP homepage}}
• Named to FORTUNE's Great Place to Work list in 2016, 2017 and 2018{{Cite web|url=http://reviews.greatplacetowork.com/old-navy|title=Old Navy|website=reviews.greatplacetowork.com|language=en|access-date=2018-10-19}}

{{Reflist|2}}

{{Commons category|Old Navy (clothing brand)}}

{{Portal|San Francisco Bay Area|Companies}}

• {{official website|URL=https://oldnavy.gap.com/}}
• [http://www.gapinc.com Gap Inc.]—parent company website
• [https://kretzmedia.com/google-streetview-virtual-tours/old-navy-flagship-virtual-tours/ Flagship Store Virtual Tour]

{{Gap Inc.}}

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