"The landscape is littered with high-profile fashion designers who seemed like a good fit but couldn’t deliver the outcomes the retailer expected," says Mark Ryski, Author, CEO & Founder of HeadCount Corporation. "Fashion is so fickle that it’s virtually impossible to pick winners. The best a brand can do is to find a leader with a vision and then give them the opportunity to succeed and to fail as they adjust. Zac Posen appears to be an excellent choice, but ultimately, consumers will decide his success. I understand the PR value of GAP Inc. announcing the partnership with a bona fide fashion maven, but setting expectations too high will be counterproductive. There are many fashion challenges to address in an enterprise like GAP Inc., and it will take time to see meaningful change. Focusing efforts on establishing core lines that can be expanded based on success seems like a good place to start."
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More great comments on this topic by RetailWire's BrainTrust experts including: Neil Saunders, Gene Detroyer, Jenn McMillen CLMP, Carol Spieckerman, Jeff Sward, Christine Russo, Gary Sankary, Cathy Hotka, Mohammad Ahsen (Socially Ahsen), Mark Self and Anil Patel.