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Good morning. Phil Wahba writing this morning from New York. Gap Inc. CEO Richard Dickson has a theory: A brand cannot sell its way out of irrelevance.<\/p>\n
Touring the remodeled Gap flagship store in Manhattan\u2019s Flatiron District during an interview for Fortune\u2019s Behind the Business video series, Dickson paused beneath framed photographs by Annie Leibovitz and Bruce Weber showing Debbie Harry, Willie Nelson, and Lauren Hutton sporting Gap\u2019s classic American casualwear. Nearby are huge photos of Hailey Bieber, a \u201cGap girl\u201d of today, promoting her new denim line with the brand.<\/p>\n
The juxtaposition illustrates the strategy that Dickson\u2014who became CEO in 2023 after a tumultuous stretch in which Gap Inc. cycled through five CEOs in five years\u2014is pursuing. He\u2019s trying to reconnect the company\u2019s namesake chain with the cultural conversation. That\u2019s why he brought in the designer Zac Posen as Gap Inc.\u2019s creative director and Old Navy\u2019s chief creative officer, invested in celebrity collaborations, and leaned into the company\u2019s history.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had great storytelling and brands, but somewhere along the way, we lost the story and became more about the stuff,\u201d Dickson told me. \u201cCultural connection and relevance actually are a fundamental part of brand management.\u201d<\/p>\n
The early results are encouraging. Gap comparable sales rose 10% in the first quarter, extending a two-year streak of growth. Its \u201cBetter in Denim\u201d campaign with global girl group Katseye generated a viral Busby Berkeley-style dance number that has been viewed 80 million times, while a limited-edition hoodie collaboration sold briskly. Victoria Beckham, Malcolm Todd, and Inde Navarrette have also joined the effort, while Old Navy is working with Cardi B on denim.<\/p>\n
But cultural heat is not the same thing as a successful turnaround. Many apparel retailers have seen sales growth this year, but some of that is thanks to broader inflation. The real test is whether Gap can raise prices because people want its t-shirts and jeans enough to pay more for them. Gap Inc. shares are down 20% this year, and the company\u2019s revival is still, as Guggenheim analyst Simeon Siegel put it, a \u201cshow-me\u201d story. \u201cWhat is the purpose of cultural relevance?\u201d Siegel asked. \u201cIt should be to drive revenues, and also drive prices.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the takeaway, so far, to glean from Gap\u2019s effort. A legacy brand\u2019s past can be an asset, but only if it supplies a credible bridge to the present. Dickson learned that at Mattel, where his work reviving Barbie helped lay the groundwork for the megahit film based on the doll.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At Mattel, cultural relevance came with a blockbuster ending. At Gap, the sequel is still in production.<\/p>\n
Contact CEO Daily via Diane Brady at diane.brady@fortune.com<\/p>\n
Top leadership news<\/p>\n
Mamdani\u2019s business council lacks major Wall Street and Big Tech executives<\/p>\n
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani appointed 15 business leaders, including Chobani CEO Hamdi Ulukaya and Etsy CEO Kruti Patel Goyal, to advise City Hall on economic policy. Major Wall Street and technology companies\u2014including JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, BlackRock, Meta, and Alphabet\u2014have no executives sitting on the council.<\/p>\n
Altman confronts data-center resistance<\/p>\n
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman acknowledged growing U.S. opposition to the data centers underpinning the AI boom as the company plans about $50 billion in computing spending this year. Local resistance tied to electricity, water, noise, and infrastructure concerns has reportedly blocked or delayed at least 48 data-center projects worth $156 billion.<\/p>\n
Nvidia reportedly moves to buy Hugging Face for $12.9 billion<\/p>\n
Nvidia is reportedly nearing a $12.9 billion acquisition of Hugging Face, the open-source AI platform, per The Information. The deal would expand Nvidia\u2019s reach in AI software and give it closer ties to developers using and sharing AI models.<\/p>\n
The markets<\/p>\n
S&P 500 futures are down 0.1% this morning. The last session rose 0.7%. South Korea\u2019s KOSPI fell 1.8%, while Japan\u2019s Nikkei 225 rose 0.4%. China\u2019s CSI 300 fell 0.4%, while Hong Kong\u2019s Hang Seng Index rose 0.1%. India\u2019s NIFTY 50 is up 0.2%, while the STOXX Europe 600 is up 0.5% in early trading. Bitcoin has dropped below $79,500.<\/p>\n
Around the watercooler<\/p>\n
The $40 trillion national debt is growing while Social Security goes broke\u2014because wealthy Boomers are collecting over $100k in benefits per year by Joshua Hong<\/p>\n
In border states, even Trump\u2019s own party wants the Canada fight to be over by Nick Lichtenberg<\/p>\n
Anthropic makes first move into physical AI with new way for scientists, manufacturers to bring equipment to life by Emily Forlini<\/p>\n
Bridge founder Zach Abrams sees an opportunity for ‘tokenized local currencies’ across Asia by Angelica Ang<\/p>\n
Today’s edition of CEO Daily is curated and edited by Joseph Abrams, Jason Ma, Nicholas Gordon, and Lee Clifford.<\/p>\n
#CEO #revived #Barbie #thinks #Gap<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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