SHOPPERS may still be able to get hold of their favourite Gap gear after the store sealed a deal to sell its products through clothing chain Next.
Gap announced in June that it was closing all of its 81 stores in the UK and Ireland and was shifting online but it is now also being kept alive on the high street through a new partnership.
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Gap, which is known for its branded hoodies, closed more than 200 stores worldwide amid plunging sales last year.
But it decided to close its UK stores earlier this year and focus on partnerships instead.
Next and Gap announced one of the first partnerships today after agreeing a joint venture.
The brands said Next would operate Gap’s online offering and sell its products at select retail locations from the beginning of 2022.
Gap customers will also be able to arrange to pickup online click and collect orders in Next stores.
Next will own 51% of the venture while Gap owns 49%.
A spokesperson for the joint venture said no decisions have been made yet on which stores will stock Gap merchandise and which products will be on offer.
Next chief executive Lord Simon Wolfson, said the company was delighted to be supporting Gap’s next stage.
Mark Breitbard, president of Gap Global, said the brand is now meeting its customers where they are shopping.
The iconic fashion giant was founded in 1969, opened its first outlets in the UK in 1987 and in the Republic of Ireland in 2006.
But it has struggled against UK high street favourites like H&M, Primark, and Zara.
The closure of its shops comes as experts warned the pandemic has been the the “worst time ever for retail”.
There have been lots of high profile high street casualties this year including Debenhams and the collapse of the Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia empire that saw brands such as Top Shop and Miss Selfridge close.
The high street shops not reopening today as they close forever
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