Proposal for Solving Problems in Gap Inc.: Opinion Essay

`A proposal is a formal suggestion or plan that is put forward for the consideration by others in order to stimulate change. Proposals are mainly used by companies or organization to highlight the problems that the organization is facing and eliminate them or look for strengths that the organization could exploit in order for it to grow.

The company that is our main focus is the Gap Inc. Gap Inc. is an American retail company that deals with accessories and garments. It is a large retail company with an approximate of 135,000 employees and a total of 3726 stores in the world. Its branches are located in America, Europe and Asia. These statistics makes Gap Inc. one of the largest retail companies not only in America but also in the world at large. Gap Inc. has five brands namely: Old Navy, Gap, Athleta, Banana Republic, Piper lime and Intermix (Oxford 112). The company has operated since 1969 hence has a lot of experience in the market and has a lot of demand as it has been a trusted brand fir a long period of time but the company has its fair share of weaknesses that if not worked on the company will fall to its knees.

The first problem that needs to be solved is the issue on pricing. Gap Inc. products are generally expensive. In this day and age designer companies are formed each and every day hence if a company such as Gap Inc. have expensive price tags on their merchandise then they are going to lose even their most valuable customers. Gap Inc. products are simply expensive with a simple knit sweater going for $60, a plain grey t-shirt going for $35 and a belt going for $35 in one of their stores. The higher the prices for their merchandise go the fewer number of people that can afford it that causing a reduction in sales that would hurt the company immensely. If the company sells its merchandise at a lower price it will definitely increase its sales volume and will make up or the depreciated price per unit by returning bigger gross profits. The increase of the price tag also seriously harms the level of demand on a product, the higher the price of the item the lower the level of demand on the product, sometimes this might be risky as in some cases companies try to reduce their prices in order to increase sales of a particular item but when the price increased the demand fell and even when the price falls back it may never be the same again (Nasdaq).

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They have to increase the quality of their products. The quality of products produced by Gap Inc. are nice but they are not quite there yet. The products that are produced by the company don’t do much to increase the number of people who use their merchandise. The merchandise that Gap Inc. produces is simply basic and lacks the ability to compete with other designer brands. In order to keep and also increase their clientele Gap Inc. has to come up with new cloth lines that more people subscribe to. The company also need a wider selection of its products in order to cater for the needs of most of its clients. If a store doesn’t have a wide range of material to choose from depending on the taste and preference of the people involved such as the young and old and the students and the working class, it is destined to fall as it will not be the people’s store of choice that resulting in a decline in sales and also a decline in its success (Pulse).

Gap Inc. also has to employ better marketing strategies. Gap Inc. needs to use marketing strategies that work in its advantage. Marketing strategies aim to achieve the following: Increase sales, getting existing customers to buy more, Increase Market share, improve customer loyalty, introduce a new product or service and also to bring in new customers. An example is an increase in advertising. Companies that invest their resources in order to advertise often get returns on their money by an increase in the number of sales as it increases awareness of the merchandise produced by the company thus resulting in an increase in sales, examples of such companies are: Nike, Adidas and Coca-Cola. A marketing strategy needs to cost efficient so that it does not end up bringing more loses to the company. Marketing strategies also have to be aimed at reaching the target audience in order for the company to experience significant returns (Smarta 15).

The company should increase the number of stores that it has throughout the world. By increasing the number of stores that the company has it will increase the awareness of the brand and also create a wider market as more people will be seeking to buy the product. Increasing the number of outlets that the company has around the world will also increase the demand for the product hence the sales of the product are bound to increase. The stores should be across all continents in order for the brand to gain popularity cross the world. Companies such as Coca-Cola which work on having their products all around the world have seen the advantages of this as they get higher amounts of profits and also broaden their client base (Pulse 60).

The above is a proposal that highlights the key areas that the company needs to work on in order to thrive as it is supposed to. It also focuses on the various weak points that the company has and seeks to eliminate all its weak points and works towards building on its strengths in order for the company to experience significant growth. If the proposal is followed by the company to the letter it is assured to experience significant growth. This growth will lead to a higher amount of profits and market that will make Gap Inc. one of the leading companies in the world.

Works Cited

1. Gap. Shop Gap for Casual Women's, Men's, Maternity, Baby & Kids Clothes, 9 Feb. 2017, www.gap.com/. Accessed 19 Feb. 2019.
2. Nasdaq. 'What Are The Problems Plaguing Gap Inc.?' NASDAQ.com, 24 Aug. 2016, www.nasdaq.com/article/what-are-the-problems-plaguing-gap-inc-cm669698. Accessed 19 Feb. 2019.
3. Oxford. 'Proposal | Definition of Proposal in English by Oxford Dictionaries.' Oxford Dictionaries | English, 5 May 2016, en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/proposal. Accessed 19 Feb. 2019.
4. Pulse. 'Gap is Struggling to Keep Up with Its Sister Brands ? We Visited the Store and Saw Why (GPS).' Ghana News, Business, Sports & Entertainment | Pulse.com.gh, 17 Dec. 2018, www.pulse.com.gh/bi/strategy/gap-is-struggling-to-keep-up-with-its-sister-brands-we-visited-the-store-and-saw-why/4n7n0ty. Accessed 19 Feb. 2019.
5. Smarta. 'How to Develop a Marketing Strategy.' Smarta.com, Feb. 2017, www.smarta.com/advice/sales-and-marketing/advertising-and-marketing/how-to-develop-a-marketing-strategy/.