Gap And Abercrombie Are Trapped In Retail’s Nightmarish Cycle

Gap and Abercrombie & Fitch are trapped in a vicious cycle. The brands can’t stop resorting to one of retail’s worst trends: rampant discounts. A new report from Credit Suisse highlights this problem. “The Gap and Abercrombie had the highest levels of discounting in our pricing check, as it appears both companies continue to rely on heavy promotional activity to drive consumer demand,” the analysts write. “Gap’s out-the-door price was 31% lower than the full price, and Abercrombie’s out-the door price was 25% lower than full price. Both company’s discounting levels were higher than the group [of retailers surveyed] average discount of 13%,” they add. The analysts were looking to assess discounting during the back-to-school season. Read more at Business Insider.