Old Navy: Difference between revisions
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==Criticism== |
==Criticism== |
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Since Old Navy is owned by [[The Gap (clothing retailer)|The Gap]], the company has been included in accusations of [[sweatshop]] labor practices. |
Since Old Navy is owned by [[The Gap (clothing retailer)|The Gap]], the company has been included in accusations of [[sweatshop]] labor practices. These claims were subsequently mitigated through highly beneficial labor practices, resulting in Old Navy® receiving excellent scores from national ranking agencies. |
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==External link== |
==External link== |
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Revision as of 03:54, 7 December 2005
Old Navy is a brand of clothing and chain of stores that is owned by Gap Inc., which also owns the Gap and Banana Republic brands. Founded in 1969, Gap is a mid-scale specialty clothing retailer, while Banana Republic is a luxury clothing retailer which started in 1978.
Launched in 1994 as a value chain, the first Old Navy store was opened in California. Flagship stores are located in New York City, Bloomington, Minnesota, Seattle, Washington, San Francisco, California, and its largest store in Chicago, Illinois.
The name "Old Navy" was chosen because originally the stores were supposed to emulate the look and feel of a traditional military surplus store. While this motif was quickly dropped, many stores retain a warehouse-like/urban decor.
The clothing found in this chain is known to be trendy and fashionable, yet more affordable than its other Gap Inc. counterparts. Because of this, the Old Navy chain is extremely popular with teenagers, who tend to have limited budgets yet want to sport the latest fashions. Old Navy's stores contain specialized sections for infants, boys, girls, men, and women, and within these categories contain styles for many occasions. In addition to clothing, Old Navy also sells a variety of accessories such as shoes, handbags, toys, hats, and sunglasses.
Additionally, Old Navy informally bills itself as an all-American brand. The chain releases a shirt every summer emblazoned with an American flag. Each year's shirt features a slightly-altered flag graphic with the year listed below. In its Canadian stores, a similar shirt with the Canadian flag is sold.
Advertisement Campaigns
The most notable aspect of Old Navy's television advertisements are their satirical tone toward a retroistic time period, vaguely between 1940 and 1960. In sharp contrast to the Gap's advertisements, Old Navy's feature chipper family members sporting their clothing line while engaging in wholesome family activities, such as barbecueing. A common tagline used in their campaigns is the widely recognized "(insert clothing article here) for the whole family!". In addition to this, Old Navy is known for its advertising campaigns featuring celebrities such as the hip hop artist Lil Kim and Morgan Fairchild. Another popular spokesperson was former Vogue editor Carrie Donovan, who often appeared in ads with company "spokesdog", Magic. Gap Inc. cites that Magic, a Airedale terrier mix, was rescued from the streets of San Jose. Magic remains an informal mascot of the company, though Donovan has since passed away.
Jeffersons stars Isabel Sanford and Sherman Helmsley appeared in a number of Old Navy television commercials in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Old Navy is best known for their inexpensive clothing and rubber flip flops, which many wear, that come in black, white, green, blue, etc.
Criticism
Since Old Navy is owned by The Gap, the company has been included in accusations of sweatshop labor practices. These claims were subsequently mitigated through highly beneficial labor practices, resulting in Old Navy® receiving excellent scores from national ranking agencies.
External link
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