// Next agrees to manage Gap’s business in the UK and Ireland as a franchise partner
// Next will operate Gap’s e-commerce business across the Next Total Platform
Next will manage Gap’s online business in the UK and Ireland as a franchise partner, after the companies finalised an agreement.
The fashion companies announced they will form a joint venture with Next owning 51 per cent and Gap owning 49 per cent.
Next will operate Gap’s online business across the Next Total Platform, host Gap-branded shop-in-shops and offer click-and-collect options next year.
READ MORE: Deep Dive: What led to Gap’s UK store closures?
American retailer Gap is in the process of closing all its 81 stores in the UK after a strategic review of the company concluded it should move to online-only.
“Next is delighted at the prospect of its Total Platform supporting Gap on the next stage of development of their world-renowned brand in the UK and Ireland,” Next chief executive Lord Simon Wolfson said.
Gap Global president and chief executive Mark Breitbard said the partnership would amplify Gap’s omnichannel business and meet customers where they were shopping now.
It comes as the pandemic sped up a rise in online purchasing and online fashion giants have marked soaring sales from lockdown shoppers.
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