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Old Navy is a brand of clothing and chain of stores owned by Gap
Inc.. Old Navy's corporate operations are within Gap in San
Francisco and San Bruno, California. It is one of the first major
corporations to house headquarters in the new Mission Bay district
of San Francisco. Gap, Inc. was run by President and CEO Paul
Pressler from September 2002 - January 22, 2007. Mr. Robert J.
Fisher will serve as Interim Chief Executive Officer commencing
January 22, 2007.
History
Old Navy opened its first three stores in Colma, San Leandro and
Pittsburg in Northern California in 1994[2]. These first three
stores were originally constructed as Gap Warehouse stores[clarify].
The size and scale of the stores were larger and more diverse than
any stores opened by the company before. Within the first year of
existence, Old Navy opened 57 stores. As of 2007, Old Navy has more
than 1,000 stores in the United States and Canada[3]. The largest
Old Navy stores are its flagship stores, located in New York City,
the Mall of America, Seattle, Chicago, and San Francisco[4]. The
largest of these is located on Market Street in San Francisco.
An Old Navy store in Canada.In 1994, the Founder of Gap, Inc. and
the CEO were visiting Paris, France and came upon a place distinctly
named Old Navy and it struck a chord with them. (The Old Navy
official site says, "Old Navy was named after a bar in Paris."[5]) A
branding consultant two weeks before the trip abroad had presented
them with the name 'Elevator'. The concept name was received with
mixed reviews. It has been said that the name was chosen because the
stores were to imitate the look and feel of a traditional military
surplus store. While this motif was quickly dropped, many stores
retain a warehouse-like/urban decor and the name Old Navy stuck.
The online store, oldnavy.com, launched operations in 2000.
In 1999, Old Navy expanded its franchise to 6 locations in Puerto
Rico. In 2001, Old Navy opened 12 stores in the Greater Toronto
Area, Canada. Furthermore, in 2004, 7 stores were opened in the
province of Quebec (including 6 in the Montreal Area).
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