The largest specialty apparel company in the U.S. has enjoyed success since launching as a jeans retailer in 1969.
Rock and roll radio commercials of the mid-1970s featured the successful Gap chain that sold Levi’s, vinyl records, and tapes (probably 8-tracks and cassettes) to young Americans.
My memory of that time is the clothing chain’s radio jingle, “Fall into The Gap.”
Gap later launched its sister specialty clothing chain, Old Navy, in 1994, which was so popular that it was the first retailer to reach $1 billion in annual sales in less than four years after its launch.
Old Navy is still doing well, but it sometimes needs to close underperforming stores.
Old Navy closes store in Pennsylvania
Retail giant The Gap Inc. will permanently close its Old Navy store at the Logan Valley shopping center in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on June 23, according to WTAJ-TV.
The retail chain did not give a specific reason for closing the store and did not disclose the number of employees affected by the closure.
Customers can still visit their nearest Old Navy store in State College, Pennsylvania, the company said in a note posted outside the store.
Queens store also closes
The closure of the Altoona store comes five months after The Gap closed its Old Navy store at 48th Street and Northern Boulevard in Queens, New York, with a similar notice on Jan. 22, the Queen’s Gazette posted on Facebook.
The retail chain also did not indicate the reason for the closure of the Queens store.
The Gap Inc. operates 3,477 stores under the Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic and Athleta brands in 35 countries.
About 2,477 stores are company-operated units, with 1,241 Old Navy locations in the portfolio, according to a Gap statement in its earnings report.
Disappointing seasonal clothing business
While The Gap did not say why it closed Old Navy stores in Pennsylvania and New York, the specialty clothing chain said it began the year with disappointing results from its women’s seasonal dresses business, despite reporting a 1% increase in comp sales in its first quarter of 2026, during its earnings call on May 28.
“Overall, Old Navy’s results were primarily impacted by the women’s apparel business, where in reviewing the season, we didn’t execute as effectively and as a result, customers didn’t respond to our assortment the way we had anticipated,” The Gap Inc. CEO Richard Dickson said on the earnings conference call.
“As we enter the second quarter, the women’s seasonal dresses business continues to underperform our expectations, with weakness also visible across the broader range of seasonal products,” Dickson said.
The chain reorients its strategy
Old Navy refocused on sharper pricing and stronger messaging to customers to turn around seasonal category performance, Dickson said. The company saw some improvements in mid-May, is monitoring progress and continues to make adjustments.