Banana Republic

Banana Republic is an American clothing and accessories retailer owned by the American multinational corporation Gap Inc.

This article is about the retail chain. For countries dependent on a single, limited-resource export, see Banana republic. For other uses, see Banana republic (disambiguation).
Banana Republic
Division of Gap
IndustryRetail
Founded1978 (1978)
Mill Valley, California, U.S.
FounderMel Ziegler
Patricia Ziegler
HeadquartersSan Francisco, California, U.S.
Number of locations
700 (2017)
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Sonia Syngal (CEO of parent Gap, Inc.)
Mark Breitbard (President & CEO)
ProductsClothing
ParentGap Inc. (1983–present)
WebsiteBananaRepublic.com

It was founded in 1978 by Mel and Patricia Ziegler, who originally called the company "Banana Republic Travel & Safari Clothing Company." The original concept for the company was to sell items that fit a safari theme. In 1983, Gap purchased the company, changed the name to "Banana Republic," and rebranded the stores to achieve a more upscale image.[1]

History

The original Banana Republic was founded by Mel and Patricia Ziegler in 1978.[2] The couple was known for acquiring interesting clothing items that their travel-related jobs brought them in contact with. They eventually opened a store in the Mill Valley area of Northern California.[3] They were known for a hand-drawn catalogue of items with fictional traveler/explorer stories printed alongside, and their safari-themed retail locations.[4][5] The Zieglers recount their adventures in the first ten years in their memoir, Wild Company, published in 2012 by Simon and Schuster.

Gap Inc. acquired Banana Republic in 1983.[6] eventually rebranding it as a mainstream luxury clothing retailer. The literate articles, hand-drawn catalog, and eccentric tourist-oriented items were phased out and were replaced with more luxurious, but not unique, items for which the brand is currently known.[7]

Locations
Inside the store
Banana Republic on Saint Catherine Street in Montreal, Quebec.
Banana Republic in Markville Shopping Centre
A Banana Republic outlet in Bonifacio Global City, Philippines

The company operates more than 500 Banana Republic stores in the United States (including Puerto Rico), 40 stores in Canada, and 61 stores beyond North America. The Gap, Inc. is expanding its international presence with franchise agreements for Gap and Banana Republic in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. In 2015 Banana Republic opened a new flagship in Manhattan on Fifth Avenue and 18th Street.

Banana Republic opened its first store outside North America in 2005 in Tokyo's Ginza shopping district. Banana Republic's presence in South Korea debuted in August 2007 with a store in the Apkujeong district of Seoul.

In 2007, the first Banana Republic stores opened at The Avenues shopping mall in Kuwait City, Kuwait; Senayan City in Jakarta, Indonesia; and Pavilion Kuala Lumpur in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Banana Republic opened its first store in Turkey in March 2008 in the Kanyon Shopping Mall in Istanbul.[8] By May 2008, İstinye Park Shopping Mall and Nişantaşı stores were also opened in Istanbul. More stores are planned to be opened in Ankara and İzmir by the end of 2008 to bring the total number of stores in Turkey to six.[9]

Banana Republic opened in Saudi Arabia in late 2008, with a store in Mall of Arabia in Jeddah and a second in Riyadh Gallery Mall in Riyadh in March 2009.

On March 2008, Banana Republic opened its 17,000-square-foot (1,600 m2) store on Regent Street in London, England.[10] On May 9, 2008, Banana Republic opened its store on Greenbelt 5 in Makati City, Philippines.

On October 2016, Banana Republic announced that it would close all its UK stores by the end of the year, due to falling sales.[11] As of 2017, Banana Republic had over 700 locations.[12]

Clothing lines
Collections
  • BR Monogram[1]
  • Heritage
  • Sunday Sunday
Capsule collections
  • Trina Turk
  • Anna Karenina
  • Mad Men
  • Milly NY
  • Issa London
  • L'Wren Scott
  • Marimekko
  • Roland Mouret

Store count

As of the end of the first quarter of 2011, Banana Republic had 682 company-owned or franchised stores in operation across 32 countries, shipped to 21 countries through company owned websites, and had the ability to ship to more than 50 countries through a 3rd party.[13]

North America
Africa
Europe
Asia
South America
Central America
gollark: ***nebulon***
gollark: It uproots itself and runs away.
gollark: Maybe Splash does that...
gollark: What could go wrong?
gollark: Old holiday? Sure! CB hybrid? Why not? Leetle pancakes? Of course. Spriter's alts? Obviously.

References
  1. "Major retailers launch upscale collections - Business - Retail | NBC News". NBC News. 2008-04-20. Retrieved 2013-03-03.
  2. Klara, Robert Before Banana Republic Was Mainstream Fashion, It Was a Weirdly Wonderful Safari Brand: Revisiting the pith helmets, Jeeps and life-size giraffes AdWeek. March 17, 2016
  3. "Banana Republic: A Look Back - Lancer Creative Services". Lancercreative.com. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  4. "The Adventure Begins..." Scottcadams.com. 10 May 2011. Archived from the original on 6 April 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  5. "Banana Republic - Themed Retail That Once Was". Discoveries.vdaproductions.com. Archived from the original on 9 July 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  6. Times, Lawrence M. Fisher and Special To the New York. "Gap Inc. to Cut Growth Of Banana Republic Unit". Retrieved 2018-07-13.
  7. "Before Banana Republic Was Mainstream Fashion, It Was a Weirdly Wonderful Safari Brand". Retrieved 2018-07-13.
  10. "Regent Street Online". Regentstreetonline.com. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  11. Reuters (18 October 2016). "Gap to shut all Banana Republic shops in the UK" – via The Guardian.
  12. "Before Banana Republic Was Mainstream Fashion, It Was a Weirdly Wonderful Safari Brand". Retrieved 2018-07-13.
  13. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 28, 2011. Retrieved August 8, 2011.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  14. EconomĂa. "Noticias de El Salvador | Diario El Mundo » Roble inicia cambios en Multiplaza y Metrocentro". Elmundo.com.sv. Archived from the original on 2012-10-28. Retrieved 2013-03-03.
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