Dive Brief:
- In a sign it’s serious about yanking Athleta from its doldrums, Gap Inc. has tapped Nike veteran Maggie Gauger to be global brand president and CEO, effective Friday. Gauger has been at Nike for more than two decades, most recently leading the North America women’s business.
- She replaces former Alo Yoga executive Chris Blakeslee, who arrived two years ago, after longtime Gap Inc. executive Mary Beth Laughton abruptly left.
- Gap Inc. CEO Richard Dickson in May warned the brand’s recovery was taking longer than expected. In its most recent quarter, Athleta net sales fell 6% year over year to $308 million and comps plummeted 8%, declines worse than many analysts anticipated.
Dive Insight:
It was clear by this past spring that analysts had lowered their expectations of Athleta, though less clear when their patience might run out.
“The Athleta turnaround is definitely taking longer than the market has expected and while we are believers it will turn it may not be in 2025,” Evercore analysts led by Michael Binetti said in a May client note.
The brand has eluded the upswing seen at Gap Inc. since Richard Dickson’s arrival as CEO two years ago, the same week Blakeslee joined. Laughton, also a Nike vet who took the Athleta post in 2019, had herself been working on a turnaround, but left shortly after it became clear that merchandising changes under her watch were falling flat.
There was more turnover this year with the departure of Sheila Shekar Pollak, a brand marketing executive who helped launch its “Power of She” branding and girls’ line.
Blakeslee is staying on until early November, according to financial filings. In a statement Tuesday, Dickson said that he “has led the early stages of Athleta's reset, recentering the brand to win with innovative performance product and refining the brand's point of view, helping to position Athleta for the future."
At Nike, Gauger “was responsible for driving growth, brand love, and customer affinity and acquisition within the large active and athleisure market,” Gap Inc. said in its release. “Her extensive background across retail, strategy, merchandising, product creation, commerce, digital, and general management - both domestically and globally - are critical assets to the future growth of Athleta.”
