American fashion brand GAP Inc. has decided to further strengthen its presence in India by opening Gap shop-in-shops through multi-brand retailers in 17 cities. This was announced by Arvind Lifestyle Brands Limited, the Gap’s franchisee in India.
Jammu, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Patiala, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Ahmadabad, Bhopal, Bhubaneshwar, and Ranchi are the major locations that have been identified by Gap to start its retail operations. Rest of stores will come up in its existing markets of Pune, Noida and New Delhi.
This is the first time that Gap has announced to go for shop-in-shops format in India. Kapsons Group, Iconic India and All That Jazz will help the retailer to launch its shop-in-shops.
GAP, which is majorly present in India’s Tier I cities of Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru and Chennai other than Delhi-NCR is now mulling to foray into major Tier 2 and 3 cities as well. This move can be termed as a counter step to compete against the rival H&M, the Swedish fashion label, which has started setting up its physical stores in cities like Indore and Ludhiana.
According to a statement issued by the company, these new upcoming stores will have with adult, kids and baby assortments; Adult only locations; and dedicated Kids and Baby layouts.
The fashion retailer currently operates a total of 11 stores in India and four of them are located in Delhi-NCR, including the newly inaugurated store in Delhi’s Pacific Mall (Tagore Garden) in New Delhi. The mall is one of the capital’s premium shopping, entertainment and leisure destinations.
