GAP

Background

Hilco Capital acted as the store closure partner to Gap for over seven years, planning and managing all aspects of the company’s closure events in Europe. In total, 120 store closure events were conducted across the UK, Ireland, Italy and France, with the brand ultimately moving to a franchise model outside the US.

Once a closure had been announced, Hilco guaranteed the minimum recovery from liquidating all store inventory and advised on any additional parcels of inventory which could be sold through the closure programme. In each case, our retail team quickly deployed resources at store level and head office, coupled with bespoke marketing collateral as required.

Hilco Capital’s role

• Managed all aspects of the store closure process on behalf of Gap
• Guaranteed the minimum recovery achieved from selling the inventory
• Designed and supplied bespoke POS using the retailer’s brand guidelines, to emphasise urgency and maximise recoveries while preserving brand equity
• Honoured any existing promotions that were running concurrently in the core estate
• Sold through all inventory in situ, controlling discounting cadence to maximise recoveries
• Sold any unwanted fixtures, fittings and equipment

Results

• All closure events operated exactly to pre-agreed schedules, often at short notice
• All minimum guarantees met and sales and margin targets consistently exceeded
• All unwanted FF&E sold through the closure events
• Store void period at the end of the sale reduced from five working days down to two, reducing occupancy costs
• All stores handed back to landlords on time and in the agreed condition
• Successfully removed the distraction of operating profitable store closures from Gap's management team