The Gap to close long-time Toronto flagship store in January
Posted December 11, 2020 12:35 pm.
Canada’s flagship Gap store, which has sat at the corner of Bay and Bloor Streets in Toronto for decades, is shutting down for good.
The Gap has already been shuttering stores nationwide as it looks to boost its sales online.
Because all retail stores in Toronto are closed due to the city currently under the province’s COVID-19 lockdown measures, a spokesperson for the Gap says the Bloor Street West store will officially shut down in January.
“As part of our company strategy to adapt to the changing needs of our customer and growth of our online business, we are looking thoughtfully at our real estate to support the best path forward. As a result, we are closing a number of stores across the Gap Inc. fleet, including our Gap brand store on Bloor Street at the end of January 2021,” a spokesperson said in an email to 680 NEWS.
“We remain committed to making appropriate and timely decisions on stores that don’t fit our vision for the future of Gap Inc. We are confident these closures will help strengthen the health of our company moving forward,” they add.
In March of last year, the Gap’s parent company said it planned to close some stores in Canada as part of a global plan to shutter almost half of the brand’s locations by 2021.
At the time, Gap Inc. refused to say exactly how many of the 230 stores it expected to shutter in Canada, but that the majority of international network closures will be in North America.
In early 2021, the Gap will launch a partnership with rapper Kanye West.
The retailer, including its subsidiaries Old Navy and Banana Republic, made headlines in late November after its stores stayed open for business across the city despite provincial lockdown orders.
The company eventually conceded and closed its many locations a day later.
