Gap Inc.’s turnaround efforts appear to be gaining ground based on its first-quarter results.
The apparel retailer swung to a profit of $166 million, or $0.43 per share, from a loss of $932 million, or $2.51 per share, in the year period. Excluding one-time charges associated with the sale of Janie & Jack and Intermix, Gap earned $0.48 per share during the quarter, which past an expected loss of $0.05 per share.
Total revenue increased to $3.99 billion from $2.11 billion a year earlier, when the retailer’s stores were temporarily closed amid the pandemic. Analysts had an estimated revenue of $3.45 billion.
By brand, Old Navy, comparable sales rose 35% year-over-year and were up 25% versus 2019. Athleta’s comparable sales rose 27% from last year, and increased 46% on a two-year basis. (The two brands accounted for 66% of company-wide sales in the first quarter.) Banana Republic’s comparable sales fell 4% year-over-year and were down 22% versus 2019.
At Gap’s namesake banner, comparable sales globally grew 29% year-over-year but were down 1% on a two-year basis. But the brand’s comparable sales in rose 9% from 2019.
“Investments in demand-generation, coupled with macro tailwinds, supercharged our brands,” said Sonia Syngal, CEO. “Gap Inc. delivered sales growth of 8% over 2019 pre-COVID levels, with particular strength at Old Navy and Athleta, a healthy and growing Gap business in North America, and market share gains that outpaced the industry Inc. “As store traffic came back, we sustained our digital dominance with 82% online growth versus 2019.”
