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Analyst Says Gap Missed Opportunity To Market Mouret

Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg News, Tuesday, December 5, 2006 11:46 AM

By asking French designer Roland Mouret to design five exclusive dresses, Gap Inc. borrowed a tactic used by Swedish rival Hennes & Mauritz and other retailers to ignite sales. But while H&M drew throngs by partnering with designers such as Karl Lagerfeld and Stella McCartney, there were precious few shoppers drawn to Gap Inc.'s Fifth Avenue store in New York on Friday.

Celebrities such as Nicole Kidman and Cameron Diaz have worn Mouret's designs. But unlike H&M's treatment of its designs, Gap didn't display Mouret's name in stores or windows or even on the clothing. "It's a missed execution," says Mark Montagna, an analyst at New York-based CL King & Associates.

More retailers are using high-end designers to boost traffic and sales. Target Corp. sells Isaac Mizrahi clothing; Kohl's Corp. will sell a collection by Vera Wang.

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