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To get intel on how to revive another stumbling and bumbling retail icon, incoming Starbucks (SBUX) CEO Brian Niccol should drop by and say hi to another West Coast native: Gap (GAP) CEO Richard Dickson.
I've been impressed by Dickson's work from day one at Gap, and I can't say I'm surprised given my interactions with him when he worked at resurrecting Mattel's (MAT) Barbie brand.
Still, I'm the same guy who said on live TV more than a decade ago that Gap was dead. Up until Dickson's arrival I was dead right — Gap has been flailing under horrible CEOs.
About one year ago last week, though, Dickson officially took over the top job and all that dread and mismanagement began to change.
I met Dickson for coffee at Gap's NYC HQ around the time he started. He shared with me how he was assessing the operations — challenging the status quo, looking into the company's crappy websites, and investigating how Gap is leaving margin on the table in its supply chain. It was a detailed, impressive scope of work that has begun to appear to the outside world.
For example...
Gap officially changed its stock trading symbol on Aug. 22 after going public on the New York Stock Exchange on May 19, 1976. It's now "GAP," rather than a nod to the navigation system "GPS."
The move is not without symbolism.
The first Gap store opened on Aug. 22, 1969, on Ocean Avenue in San Francisco. Called The Gap, the store sold everything from Levi's (LEVI) jeans to cassettes.
"To some extent, it was an obvious conversation. I mean GPS or GAP, right? So there is, to some extent, one of those moments where you go, why not?" Dickson told me at the New York Stock Exchange, surrounded by floor traders decked out in Gap denim and 1969 sweatshirts.
You can catch that full interview here. What you will see, I think, is a CEO hitting his stride and thinking about the next three years for the company.
The ticker change is the latest signal sent by Dickson that Gap will respect its heritage but aim to become competitive again by pivoting to a culturally relevant future.
Since assuming his role, Dickson has been on the road, visiting distribution centers and stores while meeting with top decision-makers at the retailer. The group diagnosed habitual issues (clunky website, less-than-cool products, supply chain inefficiencies) that had long plagued the company's performance and stock price.
He also made several key hires, such as celebrity fashion designer Zac Posen as creative director, which has begun to bear fruit in the form of red carpet appearances for Gap clothing. The coverage in fashion magazines has picked up too.
Yes, Gap in fashion magazines. Hey, doesn't hurt!
At the same time, the company continues to cut costs and improve its balance sheet.
"We've spent a lot of time driving our strategic priorities, bringing back financial and operational rigor, enabling us to reinvigorate these brands to the extent that we could revitalize them and be part of the cultural conversation," Dickson said.
"Great product, great price, great storytelling, great store experiences. These are all fundamentals that we're working really hard to fix."
Dickson's efforts have shown results in a few areas.
Take the aforementioned websites of Gap and Old Navy, which now play eye-grabbing videos on the header of the respective chains' latest marketing campaigns. The company has gotten out in front of the baggy denim look this fall — getting in front of any trend hasn't happened since famed CEO Mickey Drexler led the company eons ago.
And Gap is cutting through the clutter online with the grabby marketing Dickson is known for — such as an ad showing baby goats roaming the halls of the company's Athleta sportswear brand. ("GOAT" is also an acronym for the greatest of all time.)
Gap's second quarter also showed sales gains at its namesake division and Old Navy, arguably its two most important banners. Banana Republic and Athleta turnarounds are likely coming sometime in 2025. Gap also delivered another healthy earnings beat. Margins improved amid the sales strength and improved cost management.
"Old Navy is clearly winning in a choppy retail landscape where the consumer is gravitating towards value. And we believe the Gap brand has opportunity to build on the momentum it’s seeing currently given fashion tailwinds/strong execution," said Citi analyst Paul Lejuez.
If Niccol can get his early diagnosis for Starbucks correct, Starbucks investors may be looking at a much higher stock price on Niccol's one-year mark as CEO (which will be Sept. 9, 2025) — not unlike Gap's Dickson. I think Niccol gets it right, and I will be able to tell by the pace of change he brings to C-suite leadership and a couple levels down — say, the public relations team.
Conversely, Niccol can just hit me up, too, for help in saving Starbucks — the video at the top of this story offers up three simple turnaround suggestions for the coffee giant. One of them is to SERVE BETTER FOOD AT STARBUCKS (and I will add a fourth: Serve better coffee; it increasingly has a burnt taste to it)!
Three times each week, I field insight-filled conversations with the biggest names in business and markets on Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid podcast. Find more episodes on our video hub. Watch on your preferred streaming service. Or listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your favorite podcasts.
In the Opening Bid episode below, Affirm (AFRM) founder and CEO Max Levchin shares his best thoughts on the future of shopping and the state of consumers.