Gap Inc. has begun shipping e-commerce orders to 55 countries in a move to expand the retail clothing company’s global presence.
E-commerce provider FiftyOne is helping to facilitate sales to international customers.
Consumers in countries such as Australia, Brazil and Mexico may now order from Gap Inc.’s online stores. The company, which owns and operates Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic, Piperlime and Athleta, soft-launched the expanded shipping August 3 before officially announcing it August 12.
“Online is an important growth vehicle for us. So we’ve put a robust program in place to grow our business internationally,” said Kris Marubio, Gap Inc. spokeswoman.
All consumers now must order from Gap Inc.’s US e-commerce site, but Gap Inc. will launch in-country e-commerce sites in Canada, the UK and China before the end of the year, Marubio said. Gap Inc. also plans to open brick-and-mortar Banana Republic stores in Milan and Paris, and Gap stores in Milan and China, she said.
Not all of Gap Inc.’s brands reach consumers globally. Old Navy ships to all 55 countries, while Athleta ships to 30. Gap Inc. plans to reach 65 consumers by the end of this year.
“Our site now works with 43 currencies,” Marubio said. “One of the challenges is, for every customer, you want them to have an easy online shopping experience — for them to be able to check out and get their total order amount in their own currency with the tariffs, with the duty, whatever the shipping fee, up front, which is a key thing so they don’t get a surprise later on their credit card [bill].”
