With more than 3,800 stories in the United States, Europe, and Japan, Gap is a specialty retailer that sells clothing, accessories, and personal-care products for men, women, and children. Gap, Inc. sells products using three brand names and stores: Gap, Banana Republic, and Old Navy. Based in San Francisco, Gap, Inc. was founded in 1969 by Dan and Doris Fisher. Gap went public in 1976, offering 1.2 million shares of stock to investors. In 1983, the firm purchased Banana Republic and hired Millard Drexler (1944–) as president of its Gap division. He became president of Gap, Inc. in 1987 and CEO in 1995. By 2001, the firm employed more than 166,000 people worldwide and had revenues in excess of $13 billion.

During the 1980s and 1990s, Gap, Inc. underwent expansion that established it as a significant brand name in U.S. retailing. GapKids opened its first store in 1983, and Gap Outlet (originally called Gap Warehouse) opened in 1993. Its Old...