Gap opens Chinese online store

Internet Retailer.

Gap, which late last year opened Gap bricks-and-mortar stores in Shanghai and Beijing, initially will use its Web store on Taobao.com to sell merchandise from its Gap, Baby Gap and Gap Kids brands.

Taobao reaches 370 million registered users, Gap says. Taobao also receives more than 50 million unique visitors daily and features more than 800 million individual product listings.

The store, according to San Francisco Business Times, made a bold entry into China last November when it opened four stores as well as a dedicated Chinese e-commerce site.

The company has targeted international and online as two primary growth areas for the next few years, making this move with Taobao an obvious decision.

John Ermatinger, president of Gap Asia-Pacific Region, called China “the cornerstone of Gap's global growth strategy” and said opening shop on Taobao is key to growing Gap's brand presence in China and with the Chinese consumer.

Last month the San Francisco-based retailer reported that its fourth-quarter net income climbed, helped by rising sales abroad, online and at its higher-price Banana Republic and lower-price Old Navy chains, states Bloomberg BusinessWeek.

The company says it plans to open about 75 new franchise stores and 50 company-owned stores abroad, including 10 to 15 in China, eight to 10 in Italy and 25 outlet stores.