◊ Shop at the Gap

In 1969, Doris and Don Fisher opened the first Gap store in San Francisco with the goal of creating a store experience that was easy for the customer and offered a wide selection of fits and styles.

The story began in the summer of 1969: Man took his first walk on the moon. Nearly 450,000 people gathered in upstate New York to witness the historic Woodstock concert. And Doris and Don Fisher opened the first Gap store in San Francisco. Today, Gap Inc. is one of the world's largest specialty retailers, with more than 3,100 stores and fiscal 2008 revenues of $14.5 billion. They operate four of the most recognized apparel brands in the world — Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy and Piperlime. Every day, they look for new ways to connect with customers around the world, provide value to their shareholders and make a positive contribution in the communities where they do business.

Their world headquarters offices are based in the San Francisco Bay Area and their product design offices are located primarily in New York City, San Francisco and London. They also have offices around the globe to support their store management, distribution and product manufacturing operations.

Here are a few of the milestones:

1976 GAP goes public, offering 1.2 million shares of stock on the New York and Pacific Stock Exchanges.

1983 Millard ("Mickey") Drexler joins the company as President and COO of the Gap division. Gap Inc. acquires Banana Republic — then a two-store safari and travel clothing company.

1986 The first GapKids store opens in San Mateo, Calif.

1987 The first Gap store outside the United States opens in London, England, on George Street.

1989 The first Gap store in Canada opens in Vancouver, British Columbia.

1990 The babyGap line is born, debuting in the GapKids store in San Francisco, Calif.

1994 Old Navy opens its first store in Colma, Calif. Gap Outlet stores open their doors as part of the new Gap Factory Outlet division.

1997 Old Navy sets a retail record, reaching $1 billion in annual sales in less than four years of operation. Gap opens its Online Store at gap.com.

1999 BananaRepublic.com launches.

2000 Oldnavy.com launches. Gap launches its Gap Maternity collection on gap.com.

2001 Old Navy makes its debut outside the United States, opening 12 stores in Canada. Banana Republic launches petite sizes online.

2002 Paul Pressler is named Gap Inc. President and CEO. Millard Drexler retires after 19 years of service.

2003 Gap Inc. Founder Don Fisher announces decision to step down as Chairman of the Board.

2004 Bob Fisher is named Gap Inc. Chairman of the Board. Gap Inc. issues its first Social Responsibility Report.

2005 Gap Inc. relaunches gap.com, BananaRepublic.com and oldnavy.com. The first Banana Republic stores in Japan open in Tokyo and Yokohama. Gapinc.com is honored with a WebAward by the Web Marketing Association.

2006 Gap Inc. launches its first online-only brand, Piperlime. Gap Inc. expands its global presence with the first Gap and Banana Republic franchise store locations in the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

2007 Paul Pressler steps down and Bob Fisher assumes the role of Interim Chief Executive Officer. Glenn Murphy joins the company as Board of Directors Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Gap franchise stores open in new countries: United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Indonesia, Kuwait, Qatar, Korea, Oman, Turkey, Philippines, Riyadh and Saudi Arabia. The first Banana Republic franchise store opens in Bahrain, followed by stores in Indonesia, Kuwait, UAE, Malaysia, Singapore, Korea and Oman.

Above are only a few of the milestones.  You can learn about more from the Gap Inc. website.

Learn more about GAP.

Learn more about Banana Republic.

Learn more about Old Navy.

Learn more about Piperlime.

Learn more about Athleta.

Visit the websites of the Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy.