Shop Banana Flex
This article is about the retail chain. For countries dependent on a single, limited-resource export, see Banana republic. For other uses, see Banana republic (disambiguation).
Banana Republic
Banana Republic Logo.svg
Type Division of Gap
Industry Retail
Founded 1978; 44 years ago
Mill Valley, California, U.S.
Founders Mel Ziegler
Patricia Ziegler
Headquarters San Francisco, California, U.S.
Number of locations 700 (2017)
Area served Worldwide
Key people Sonia Syngal (CEO of parent Gap, Inc.)
Mark Breitbard (President & CEO)
Products Clothing
Parent Gap Inc. (1983–present)
Website BananaRepublic.com
Banana Republic is a low-end luxury clothing and accessories retailer owned by the American multinational corporation Gap Inc.
It was founded in 1978 by Mel and Patricia Ziegler, who originally called the company "Banana Republic Travel & Safari Clothing Company." The original concept for the company was to sell items that complement a safari and travel lifestyle. The couple worked for the San Francisco Chronicle. He was a reporter. She was an illustrator. They lived in an apartment on Russian Hill.
In 1978, they quit their jobs, moved to Tamalpais Valley. They wanted to start a business for income. But first, Mel received a magazine assignment to explore Australia for a few weeks with other journalists. In 1983, Gap purchased the company, changed the name to "Banana Republic," and rebranded the stores to achieve a more upscale image.[1]
Contents
1 History
2 Locations
3 Clothing lines
4 Store count
5 References
6 External links
History
The original Banana Republic was founded by Mel and Patricia Ziegler in 1978.[2] The couple was known for acquiring interesting clothing items that their travel-related jobs brought them in contact with.[3] They eventually opened a store in the Mill Valley area of Northern California.[4] They were known for a hand-drawn catalogue of items with fictional traveler/explorer stories printed alongside, and their safari-themed retail locations.[5][6] The Zieglers recount their adventures in the first ten years in their memoir, Wild Company, published in 2012 by Simon and Schuster.[7]
Gap Inc. acquired Banana Republic in 1983 and by 1988 the founders, Mel and Patricia Ziegler, lost creative control,[8] eventually rebranding it as masstige, an accessible mass luxury clothing retailer. The literate articles, hand-drawn catalog, and eccentric tourist-oriented items were phased out and were replaced with more luxurious, but not unique, items for which the brand was known, currently replacing higher quality materials for mass quality lower cost fabric standards.[9]
Locations
Inside the store
Banana Republic on Saint Catherine Street in Montreal, Quebec.
Banana Republic in Markville Shopping Centre
The company operates more than 500 Banana Republic stores in the United States (including Puerto Rico), 40 stores in Canada, and 61 stores beyond North America. The Gap, Inc. is expanding its international presence with franchise agreements for Gap and Banana Republic in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. In 2015 Banana Republic opened a new flagship in Manhattan on Fifth Avenue and 18th Street.
Banana Republic opened its first store outside North America in 2005 in Tokyo's Ginza shopping district. Banana Republic's presence in South Korea debuted in August 2007 with a store in the Apkujeong district of Seoul.
In 2007, the first Banana Republic stores opened at The Avenues shopping mall in Kuwait City, Kuwait; Senayan City in Jakarta, Indonesia; and Pavilion Kuala Lumpur in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Banana Republic opened its first store in Turkey in March 2008 in the Kanyon Shopping Mall in Istanbul.[10] By May 2008, İstinye Park Shopping Mall and Nişantaşı stores were also opened in Istanbul. More stores are planned to be opened in Ankara and İzmir by the end of 2008 to bring the total number of stores in Turkey to six.[11]
Banana Republic opened in Saudi Arabia in late 2008, with a store in Mall of Arabia in Jeddah and a second in Riyadh Gallery Mall in Riyadh in March 2009.[12]
In March 2008, Banana Republic opened its 17,000-square-foot (1,600 m2) store on Regent Street in London, England.[13] On May 9, 2008, Banana Republic opened its store on Greenbelt 5 in Makati, Philippines.[14]
In October 2016, Banana Republic announced that it would close all its UK stores by the end of the year, due to falling sales.[15] As of 2017, Banana Republic had over 700 locations, but as a result of european stores closures, none left in Europe.[9]
In August 2020, Banana Republic alongside Gap announced that they will close over 225 store locations as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The original plan was to close only 90 stores, however, they expanded the number as a consequence of the financial effects caused by the pandemic. The company has not stated the exact locations that will be closed, but most will be stores within malls.[16]
Clothing lines
Collections
BR Monogram[1]
Heritage
Sunday Sunday
BR Standard(2021)
Capsule collections
Trina Turk
Anna Karenina
Mad Men
Milly NY
Issa London
L'Wren Scott
Marimekko
Roland Mouret
Banana Republic Travel Clothing Catalog No.35, Spring 1988
Store count
San Francisco Bay Area portal
Companies portal
As of the end of the first quarter of 2011, Banana Republic had 682 company-owned or franchised stores in operation across 32 countries, shipped to 21 countries through company owned websites, and had the ability to ship to more than 50 countries through a 3rd party.[17]
North America
United States: 538
Canada: 40
Mexico: 8
Africa
Morocco: 1
South Africa: 1
Europe
Russia: 5
Turkey: 2
Azerbaijan: 1
France: 1
Georgia: 1
Asia
Japan: 28
South Korea: 9
Philippines: 4
Saudi Arabia: 3
United Arab Emirates: 3
Bahrain: 1
Kuwait: 1
Qatar: 1
Thailand: 1
Vietnam: 3
South America
Chile: 10
Peru: 2
Colombia: 1
Argentina: 1
Central America
Costa Rica: 1
El Salvador: 1[18]
References
"Major retailers launch upscale collections - Business - Retail | NBC News". NBC News. 2008-04-20. Retrieved 2013-03-03.
Klara, Robert Before Banana Republic Was Mainstream Fashion, It Was a Weirdly Wonderful Safari Brand: Revisiting the pith helmets, Jeeps and life-size giraffes AdWeek. March 17, 2016
Smith, Paul (1988). "Visiting the Banana Republic," in Universal Abandon: The Politics of Postmodernism. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 0816616809.
"Banana Republic: A Look Back - Lancer Creative Services". Lancercreative.com. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
"The Adventure Begins..." Scottcadams.com. 10 May 2011. Archived from the original on 6 April 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
"Banana Republic - Themed Retail That Once Was". Discoveries.vdaproductions.com. Archived from the original on 9 July 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
Ziegler, Mel (2012). Wild company : the untold story of Banana Republic. Patricia Ziegler. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4516-8348-6. OCLC 788290096.
Times, Lawrence M. Fisher and Special To the New York. "Gap Inc. to Cut Growth Of Banana Republic Unit". Retrieved 2018-07-13.
"Before Banana Republic Was Mainstream Fashion, It Was a Weirdly Wonderful Safari Brand". Retrieved 2018-07-13.
"Archived copy". www.fibaholding.com.tr. Archived from the original on 30 July 2012. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
"Archived copy". www.fibaholding.com.tr. Archived from the original on 18 April 2013. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
"Gap Inc. to launch in Turkey, Saudi Arabia". Chain Store Age. 13 June 2007. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
"Regent Street Online". Regentstreetonline.com. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
Garceau, Therese (7 May 2008). "Yes, we have now Banana Republic". philstar. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
Reuters (18 October 2016). "Gap to shut all Banana Republic shops in the UK" – via The Guardian.
Valinsky, Jordan (August 28, 2020). "Gap is closing more than 200 stores this year". CNN Business. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
"Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 28, 2011. Retrieved August 8, 2011.
EconomĂa. "Noticias de El Salvador | Diario El Mundo » Roble inicia cambios en Multiplaza y Metrocentro". Elmundo.com.sv. Archived from the original on 2012-10-28. Retrieved 2013-03-03.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Banana Republic.
U.S. official website
Canadian official website
Japanese official website
European official website
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Gap Inc.
Brands
GapBanana RepublicOld NavyIntermixHill CityAthleta
People
Donald FisherDoris F. FisherRobert J. FisherWilliam S. FisherJohn J. Fisher
Discontinued and
former brands
Forth & TownePiperlimePottery Barn (sold to Williams-Sonoma, Inc.)
Categories: Clothing brands of the United StatesShoe brandsClothing retailers of the United StatesGap brandsFashion accessory brandsUnderwear brandsRetail companies based in CaliforniaCompanies based in San FranciscoAmerican companies established in 1978Clothing companies established in 1978Retail companies established in 19781978 establishments in CaliforniaMill Valley, CaliforniaEyewear brands of the United States1983 mergers and acquisitions1990s fashion
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This page was last edited on 17 March 2022, at 17:34 (UTC).
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