GAP has closed its last Australian store after a year of multi-million dollar losses (stock image)
After nearly eight years down under, American retailer GAP has closed its last store following a year of massive losses.
In its last year of trading, the fashion outlet was expected to record losses of about $3.5million, reported SBS.
Oroton Group, who teamed up with GAP in 2013 to launch the other Australian stores, announced they would sever all ties and shut down the six remaining stores by January 31, 2018, early last year.
In Westfield Sydney, GAP’s flagship store lies empty, with boarded up windows and all signage removed, News Corp reported.
For months before the brand marked its final days, sales offering up to 80 per cent off clothing, and discounted fixtures left the stores looking more like dilapidated storage units.
Since the closure was announced, 200 staff have been laid off, and four stores in NSW: Parramatta, Westfield Sydney, Miranda and Macquarie Shopping Centre, and two in Victoria: Melbourne Central and Chadstone Shopping Centre, have been shut down.
While GAP’s entrance into Australia was initially viewed in a positive light, with some excited to get their hands on a brand that had always been a souvenir of a trip overseas, others had their doubts from the start.
Mannequins are seen haphazardly placed in the windows of GAP ahead of its closure, with price tags attached (pictured)
In the months between the announcement of the closure and the final sale, huge sales on everything including the store fittings helped clear out the shopfronts
A writer from Fashionista, who attended the opening of GAP’s first store in Melbourne’s Chadstone Shopping Centre, described the sudden change in mood when the doors were finally flung open.
While shoppers were delighted with the kids range, and stocked up on basics for the men in their lives, others were left unsettled as they stared at the racks of denim.
The writer noted the range was designed for a public who adhered to a very different style guide than that followed down under, but prophesied the brand would do as well as the incoming Zara and H&M stores.
Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case.
Combined, Zara, H&M and Uniqlo are expected to have amassed more than $800 million worth of Australian sales in the past year alone, The Herald Sun reported last month.
Signs alerting customers to huge sales were plastered all throughout the remaining GAP stores
The big blue boxes which adorned the front of each store have now been removed