Gap hires former Billabong CEO to spearhead its eponymous brand
The American fashion retailer has hired Neil Frisk, the person behind the relaunch of Australian surf brand Billabong, to lead the company’s on-going transformation process.
Gap recruits new talent to boost the business. The American retailer, fourth largest fashion distributor worldwide by turnover, has appointed Neil Friske as president and chief executive officer of the group’s eponymous brand.
Friske will assume his new position on June 20 and will be part of Gap’s senior leadership team, reporting directly to Art Peck, the group’s president and chief executive officer. The executive has been working in the industry for twenty years, leading the transformation and repositioning process of several brands.
Most recently, Friske served as chief executive officer of Billabong International, which was acquired a couple of months ago by competitor Quiksilver for 300 million dollars.
Gap’s brand new chief executive started his career at Boston Consulting Group and also worked for five years as president and chief executive officer of Eddie Bauer, repositioning the company in the outdoor segment.
Neil Fiske, the new chief executive officer for the Gap brand, started his career at Boston Consulting Group
“Neil brings significant retail and apparel experience to Gap Inc. and a track record of transforming and repositioning brands,” said Peck. “He is an experienced leader who deeply understands the mechanics of this business, the value of an omnichannel strategy and the need to build a progressive and relevant brand; I believe Neil is the right leader to strengthen Gap brand.”
The company has been inmersed in a restructuring process for the last three years. In the first quarter (ended last April), Gap registered sales of 3.78 billion dollars (3.22 billion euros), up 9.9% compared to the same period of 2017. Net income increased by 14.6% to 164 million dollars (139.9 million euros).
Gap forecasts 25 net store openings during fiscal 2018, mostly with the Athleta and Old Navy retail chains. The group also announced that it will continue to restructure both Gap’s and Banana Republic’s store network with additional closures throughout the year.
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