Forth & Towne
Forth & Towne is a defunct brand of clothing stores owned by Gap Inc., which owns Gap, Banana Republic, and Old Navy brands. It operated several test stores in the Chicago (Algonquin, Illinois; Aurora, Illinois; Skokie, Illinois; Schaumburg, Illinois), Atlanta, and New York City (West Nyack, New York) areas. Forth & Towne focused on women over 35 who grew up with the Gap brand, but have "lost touch" with it.
| Industry | retail |
|---|---|
| Fate | Owned by Gap Inc. |
| Headquarters | |
Area served | Chicago Atlanta New York City |
The name of the store refers to both the fact that it was Gap Inc.'s fourth retail clothing brand, and that the store design attempted to instill a feeling of community. The first Forth & Towne location to open was in West Nyack's Palisades Center; it opened on August 24, 2005.
In February 2007, Gap Inc announced that all 19 stores were slated for closure, and on June 15, 2007, the first store, in Schaumburg, closed.[1] By the end of August, all Forth & Towne stores had ceased operating.
Closure
The closure affected approximately 550 employees. Gap Inc. anticipated $40 million of pre-tax expenses associated with the closure, over first and second quarters of fiscal year 2007.[2] Any returns of Forth & Towne merchandise in areas affected by the closing were honored by Gap stores, Old Navy stores, and Banana Republic stores until December 31, 2007.
See also
- Gap
- Old Navy
- Banana Republic
- Piperlime
- Athleta
References
- Sarkar, Pia; Writer, Chronicle Staff (2007-02-27). "Gap gives up on 35-plus line / Forth & Towne: Not enough long-term potential". SFGate. Retrieved 2020-02-06.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-05-31. Retrieved 2016-02-04.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)