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Question about External Analysis of Gap, Inc.

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Need assistance with the following:

Analyze the external environment of Gap. Inc.

Perform an Industry Analysis using Porter's Five Forces Model

Analyze some factors of the Macro environment

Identify Threats and Opportunities

Need enough information to formulate a three page report. Thanks

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This solution provides information to analyze the external environment of Gap, Inc., perform an industry analysis using Porter's Five Forces Model, analyze factors of the macro-environment and identify threats and opportunities. Supplemented with additional information for Gap, Inc.

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1. Need enough information to formulate a three-page report. Thanks.

I located several sources to draw on, one of which I attached for other considerations. This should give you an excellent starting point for this assignment, and more than enough information for a three-page report.

In 1969, Gap Inc. first opened its doors in San Francisco. The company grew and expanded, as the company culture matured and charity contributions increased (www.gap.com). The company met the many challenges and made a name for themselves, and indeed grew to be one of the most world known and respected brands in the apparel industry. With an ever-growing market, staying in touch with their customer and moving forward with their product, this company has proved themselves as a company to contribute to the competition of the retail industry (http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/167396/gap_inc_analysis_of_the_retailspecialty.html?page=10).

Gap Inc. is in the retail industry - in the specialty retail industry. According to the website, "Gap Inc. is a leading international specialty retailer offering clothing, accessories and personal care products to men, women, children and babies under the Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy brand names. Gap brand includes Gap, GapKids, babyGap, GapBody and Gap Outlet." (www.gap.com).

The Gap, Inc. company website provides extensive amounts of corporate information including histories of the company, investor information such as annual reports and Securities and Exchange Commission filings, historical stock prices, executive biographies, company news and press releases, etc. Look for this information under headings for Investor Relations, About The Company, etc. See About Gap, Inc. in the lower right menu for corporate information, including links to their history, management, etc. See their Financials & Media for S.E.C. filings, financial reports, downloadable images (for presentations), etc. See also their Annual Reports back to 1998. The word Strategy does not appear in their latest report (dated 2003). (see http://www.gapinc.com/public/index.shtml).

Things to consider in an environmental analysis of the retail/specialty retail industry:

· Culture trends have shifted with the introduction of the Internet.
· Economically, it has been harsh the past couple of years with the threat of terrorism and whatnot. Yet, economist expected a pickup in the first half of 2004 since tax refunds and cuts in capital gains as well as dividend taxes is putting more money into the hands of consumers.
· Legally, this industry must keep in mind different government regulations as companies start to go global. Fair wages and factories is also a large concern. With the improvement of technology, people are able to order their products off the Internet at any location and time. This is one of the ways companies are adapting to the lives of their occupied customers.
· In the industry, the retail industry can be split up into for sections: Distributors, Internet and Catalogue Retail, Multiline Retail and Specialty Retailers.
· Competitors shift as the actual product line of a company is viewed.
· This industry is in the mature stage of the industry lifecycle and is very saturated. With industry trends of value driven consumers, competition is high for this industry
(http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/167396/gap_inc_analysis_of_the_retailspecialty.html?page=10).

From another source: (excerpt)

Retail

Retail is one industry we all have a part in?after all, it is the sale of products to individual consumers (as opposed to businesses). Aside from all the consumers, though, more than 15 million people in the United States are employed by retailers?that's 12% of the workforce. With U.S. annual retail revenues close to $4 trillion and over a million retail businesses in operation, there's no question that this is a huge industry. We all know that Wal-Mart is the world's biggest retailer, but add to that all those other big box stores, your favorite record store, the grocery ...

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