Gap to Hire 65,000 Seasonal Workers for Peak Holiday Season

Treading on the path of other retailers The Gap, Inc. GPS also unveiled its plan to hire seasonal workers to tackle the rush in the upcoming festive period. While Kohl’s KSS declared its hiring plan beforehand in July, Macy’s M and Target TGT followed the suit. Seems like, all the retailers are geared up for the busiest season of the year.

Gap plans to deploy around 65,000 seasonal employees for its Gap, Banana Republic, Athleta and Old Navy stores as well as call centers and distribution centers for the holiday period. The company will host the hiring event in the United States on Oct 6, 2018 and in Canada on Oct 13, 2018. Seasonal employees will get perquisites like 50% discount on regular-priced merchandise at Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy stores, 30% rebate at Outlet and Factory stores, while 25% off at Athleta stores.

Holiday season is a crucial time for retailers as it accounts for a sizeable chunk of yearly revenues and profits. Retailers try to attract customers with early-hour store openings, huge discounts and promotional strategies. Clearly, gradual wage acceleration, steady job growth, improving consumer sentiment and sound economic fundamentals are working in tandem for the sector. Moreover, National Retail Federation’s projection of a tick-up in U.S. retail sales of at least 4.5% this year raises optimism.

Wrapping Up

Robust omni-channel efforts, solid growth strategy, efficient capital-allocation plan and impressive surprise history are the key strengths for Gap. However, persistent softness seen in the flagship brand over the past few quarters has been a hindrance for the stock. So far this year, this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company has plunged approximately 21%, underperforming its industry’s and S&P 500 index’s growth of 2.7% and 8%, respectively. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Management remains focused on reviving the Gap brand by optimizing the organizational structure of the same. The company’s consistent focus on enhancing product quality and responsiveness to changing consumer trends also bode well. In addition, it remains keen on making constant efforts to bolster digital and mobile offerings besides improving product acceptance. Gap extended the “find-in-store”, “Reserve-in-Store” and “Order in Store” capabilities across various stores.

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