Old Navy turns to retail, entertainment vet to invigorate turnaround

Dive Brief:

• Gap Inc. has tapped an executive with retail and entertainment experience to serve as chief customer officer at its Old Navy banner and as head of marketing shared services for the whole enterprise.
• Michael Francis, founder and CEO of strategic marketing firm Farview Associates until last month, has held leadership posts at Walmart, Target, DreamWorks and J.C. Penney. 
• At Old Navy, reporting to brand CEO Haio Barbeito, he is tasked with “strengthening brand storytelling, deepening customer engagement, and evolving the customer experience across touchpoints.”

Dive Insight:

Since Richard Dickson took the CEO job in 2023, Gap Inc. has showered its value brand with opportunities, bringing in Zac Posen to serve as chief creative officer and centering its new beauty effort there.

This suggests that Gap Inc. sees Old Navy’s appeal beyond low prices. Before this appointment, Francis had been advising the brand, according to an emailed press release.

“Old Navy has a powerful connection with customers and enormous opportunity ahead,” Francis said in a statement. “I’m excited to partner with Haio and the team to build on that momentum, elevate the customer experience and tell stories that are distinctive, modern and unmistakably Old Navy.”

In a statement, Barbeito called Old Navy “a beloved brand with real momentum” and said that Francis “will help sharpen how we show up for customers and strengthen every connection they have with Old Navy.”

The brand has been a growth machine since Gap Inc. launched it in 1994, grabbing market share and revenue as the namesake plummeted and faded from view. Last year Old Navy furnished more than half the company’s revenue, reaching $8.7 billion.

Growth has slowed in recent years, in part because value consumers are squeezed, but executives in March told analysts that Old Navy is once again becoming a reliable growth engine.