Gap is making a fresh play in beauty with make-up, hair care, fragrance and skin care lines under its Old Navy and Gap brands.
The US fashion company said it sees “a clear and meaningful opportunity” to expand in the beauty category, which is called ”one of the fastest growing and most resilient retail categories in the US”.
The retailer cited data from analyst Euromonitor which indicated that the beauty and personal care market is expected to surpass US$100bn this year.
“Over the past two years, Gap Inc has made significant strides in advancing its strategic priorities, emerging as a more resilient company with stronger financial footing, more relevant brands and a unified culture,” the company said in a statement.
“This momentum is enabling Gap Inc to seize exciting opportunities for growth and innovation, helping ensure the company remains competitive and successful in the future.”
A phased launch will start at Old Navy this autumn with a “curated assortment of beauty and personal care products” at 150 stores.
Selected stores will host dedicated shop-in-shops and have dedicated Beauty Associates in this “test-and-learn” phase.
Gap plans to scale the beauty business in 2026 and launch “brand-right expressions across the portfolio”.
Items at Old Navy will range from skin care and make-up, to hair products and nail polish, with most priced under $25, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.
“We have the credibility with consumers to start to venture into categories adjacent to our core,” said Gap CEO Richard Dickson in an interview with the publication.
In addition to Old Navy products, the retailer will also stock other beauty brands such as e.l.f. Beauty and Mario Badescu, as well as K-beauty brands such as TonyMoly and Mixik, the WSJ reported.
Gap offered its own fragrances in the 1990s, and had also produced fragrance and personal care under a licensing deal with Interarfums in the 2000s.
Some Gap stores in the US currently sell the cult 1990s Gap fragrances, including Dream, Grass, Heaven, Om and So Pink.
Gap also makes a range of fragrances under its Banana Republic fashion brand.
The company’s sales have dropped and the Gap brand has fallen out of fashion in recent years, with store closures including exiting the UK and Ireland.
Dickson, the former President and COO of Mattel who is credited with reinvigorating Barbie, was appointed to the company in 2023 to turn things around.
He previously founded gloss.com, an online retailer for high-end cosmetics that was bought by Estée Lauder.
American designer Zac Posen was hired as EVP and Creative Director across Gap’s portfolio of brands last year, and debuted his first collection GapStudio – a higher-end premium fashion line – earlier this year.
Recently, Gap went viral for its denim advert featuring pop band Katseye.
It followed a controversial advert for denim brand American Eagle featuring Sydney Sweeney, which was accused of having racist undertones.
Gap’s “Better in denim” campaign is a nod to the classic Gap adverts of the 1990s featuring the girl group dancing to singer Kelis’ hit song Milkshake.