Banana Republic opened in Kuwait :-)
Many people will be writing about it, but I have decided to take a different approach and write about its history...
Source: Wikipedia
The original Banana Republic was founded by Mel &Patricia Ziegler in 1978. It was a two-store safari and travel-themed clothing company. The majority of sales came from its eccentric catalog, which presented high-end and unique items with chatty, usually fictional, back stories from exotic locations, as well as more pedestrian high-volume products deliberately spiced up with a similar treatment. The company competed directly with the J. Peterman catalog later satirized on the TV show Seinfeld.
As Banana Republic expanded its retail operation, it became known for the themed decoration in its stores, often featuring authentic elements, such as real Jeeps and foliage, as well as atmospheric elements, such as fog and steam.
Gap Inc. acquired Banana Republic in 1983, eventually re-branding it as a mainstream luxury clothing retailer. The eccentric tourist-oriented items were phased out and were replaced with more of the "casual luxury"-type items for which the brand is currently known. For a time, Banana Republic ate into Gap's consumer base. To set itself apart from Gap as a more up market brand, Banana Republic occasionally buys and refurbishes historic buildings for its retail locations. Today the company operates more than 400 Banana Republic stores in the US (including Puerto Rico), and 24 stores in Canada. It has also recently opened 2 stores in Tokyo, Japan.
Banana Republic offers clothing in women's regular and petite sizes as well as in men's.
Recently, some men's stores were converted to sell petite sizes as well. It has also recently signed franchising deals in Malaysia, Singapore, and the UAE.
In 2007, the first Banana Republic store will open at the The Avenues mall in Kuwait and Grand Indonesia Shopping Town in Jakarta, Indonesia.
The Banana Republic announced that it will open stores in Korea and the UK in January 2008.
Many people will be writing about it, but I have decided to take a different approach and write about its history...
Source: Wikipedia
The original Banana Republic was founded by Mel &Patricia Ziegler in 1978. It was a two-store safari and travel-themed clothing company. The majority of sales came from its eccentric catalog, which presented high-end and unique items with chatty, usually fictional, back stories from exotic locations, as well as more pedestrian high-volume products deliberately spiced up with a similar treatment. The company competed directly with the J. Peterman catalog later satirized on the TV show Seinfeld.
As Banana Republic expanded its retail operation, it became known for the themed decoration in its stores, often featuring authentic elements, such as real Jeeps and foliage, as well as atmospheric elements, such as fog and steam.
Gap Inc. acquired Banana Republic in 1983, eventually re-branding it as a mainstream luxury clothing retailer. The eccentric tourist-oriented items were phased out and were replaced with more of the "casual luxury"-type items for which the brand is currently known. For a time, Banana Republic ate into Gap's consumer base. To set itself apart from Gap as a more up market brand, Banana Republic occasionally buys and refurbishes historic buildings for its retail locations. Today the company operates more than 400 Banana Republic stores in the US (including Puerto Rico), and 24 stores in Canada. It has also recently opened 2 stores in Tokyo, Japan.
Banana Republic offers clothing in women's regular and petite sizes as well as in men's.
Recently, some men's stores were converted to sell petite sizes as well. It has also recently signed franchising deals in Malaysia, Singapore, and the UAE.
In 2007, the first Banana Republic store will open at the The Avenues mall in Kuwait and Grand Indonesia Shopping Town in Jakarta, Indonesia.
The Banana Republic announced that it will open stores in Korea and the UK in January 2008.
5 comments:
I loved that you took such a creative turn and posted about its history. Great post!
Thanks zahra :-****** muwaah
Your post reminded me of Oprah's interview with Banana Republic owners. Very interesting :) I haven't been to the store yet..
yeah.. I saw that intreview too.
I havent been there as well... waiting for the crowd to cool down LOL
Good review. I love the BR. So finally... you now have a lot of the American stores in Kuwait! Does that mean you wont be visiting us soon!?
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