By Tess Stynes And Chelsey Dulaney
Gap Inc. said Thursday that it has eliminated creative director
Rebekka Bay's position as part of the struggling retailer's latest
management shake-up.
Ms. Bay, whom the apparel retailer brought in from H&M in
September 2012 to help revive its namesake brand, will leave the
company immediately. Many investors had expected Ms. Bay to deliver
a turnaround at Gap. But sales have remained weak in recent
quarters, and Gap in November cut its earnings guidance for its
fiscal year ending in January and said it didn't expect sales to
improve.
Jeff Kirwan, who recently took the helm of the Gap brand,
credited Ms. Bay with helping the company to develop a dynamic
design team.
The retailer also said that it named company veteran Scott Key
as general manager of customer experience, overseeing a newly
combined e-commerce and marketing organization, as the company aims
to sharpen its focus on its customers.
Gap has been working to shore up its core business as it
prepares for its new chief executive, Art Peck, to come on next
month.
Mr. Peck has said he eager is to improve the performance of the
Gap brand, following a string of weak results.
During his tenure at Gap, Mr. Key has served in several senior
leadership roles, establishing a record for innovation while
working with Mr. Peck, the company said. Most recently, Mr. Key
headed up the company's customer engagement marketing function.
Shares of Gap have gained about 15% in the last year.
Write to Tess Stynes at tess.stynes@wsj.com and Chelsey Dulaney
at Chelsey.Dulaney@wsj.com
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