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).