Banana Republic is an American upscale clothing and accessories retailer owned by The Gap . It was founded in 1978 by Mel and Patricia Ziegler , who originally called the company "Banana Republic Travel & Safari Clothing Company". In 1983, Gap purchased the company, changed the name to "Banana Republic", and rebranded the stores to achieve a more upscale image. In the 2020s, VP of design Nicole Wiesmann has re-envisioned the brand with ad editorial campaigns that evoke luxury brands, and higher-end garments that have been compared favorably with names such as Ralph Lauren and The Row .
17-493: The original Banana Republic was founded by Mel and Patricia Ziegler in 1978. The couple worked for the San Francisco Chronicle ; Mel was a reporter and Patricia an illustrator. They lived in an apartment on Russian Hill . In 1978, they quit their jobs and moved to Tamalpais Valley . They wanted to start a business for income. But first, Mel received a magazine assignment to explore Australia for
34-613: A 2012 memoir titled Wild Company, The Untold Story of Banana Republic . This article about a United States businessperson is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Outlet store An outlet store , factory outlet or factory store is a brick and mortar or online store where manufacturers sell their merchandise directly to the public. Products at outlet stores are usually sold at reduced prices compared to regular stores due to being overstock , closeout , returned , factory seconds , or lower-quality versions manufactured specifically for outlets. Traditionally,
51-402: A factory outlet was a store attached to a factory or warehouse , sometimes allowing customers to watch the production process, such as in the original L.L. Bean store. In modern usage, outlet stores are typically manufacturer-branded stores such as Gap or Bon Worth grouped together in outlet malls . The invention of the factory outlet store is often credited to Harold Alfond , founder of
68-485: A few weeks with other journalists. The couple was known for acquiring interesting clothing items that their travel-related jobs brought them in contact with. They eventually opened a store in the Mill Valley area of Northern California. They were known for a hand-drawn catalogue of items with traveler/explorer stories printed alongside, and their safari -themed retail locations. The Zieglers recount their adventures in
85-1089: A store in the Apgujeong district of Seoul . In 2007, the first Banana Republic stores opened at The Avenues shopping mall in Kuwait City , Kuwait; Senayan City in Jakarta , Indonesia; and Pavilion Kuala Lumpur in Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia. Banana Republic opened its first store in Turkey in March 2008 in the Kanyon Shopping Mall in Istanbul . By May 2008, İstinye Park Shopping Mall and Nişantaşı stores were also opened in Istanbul. More stores are planned to be opened in Ankara and İzmir by
102-482: The Dexter Shoe Company . Outlets first appeared in the eastern United States in the 1930s. Factory stores started to offer damaged or excess goods to employees at a low price. After some time, the audience expanded to include non-employees. In 1936, Anderson-Little (a men's clothing brand) opened an outlet store independent of its existing factories. Until the 1970s, the primary purpose of outlet stores
119-637: The U.S. generated $ 15 billion in revenue from 260 stores. The number of U.S. outlet centers increased from 113 in 1988 to 276 in 1991 and to 325 in 1997. Outlet malls are not an exclusively American phenomenon. In Canada, the Dixie Outlet Mall dates from the late 1980s, and was followed by Vaughan Mills in 1999, and Toronto Premium Outlets in 2013. In Europe, retailer BAA McArthurGlen has opened 13 malls with over 1,200 stores and 3 million square feet (about 30 hectares) of retail space; describing itself as an "outlet village", Bicester Village , on
136-628: The ability to ship to more than 50 countries through a third party. By late 2022, the total number of US stores fell to just 379, including three outlets in Puerto Rico, while the number of outlets in Canada climbed to 62. The company closed all eight of its UK and Ireland stores in 2016, and shut down all of the brand's European websites in May 2022. Mel Ziegler Mel Ziegler and Patricia Ziegler are an American business couple. They are
153-629: The brand would eventually become known, currently replacing higher quality materials for mass quality lower cost fabric standards. In 2015 Banana Republic opened a new flagship in Manhattan on Fifth Avenue and 18th Street. Banana Republic opened its first store outside North America in 2005 in Tokyo's Ginza shopping district. Banana Republic's presence in South Korea debuted in August 2007 with
170-637: The edge of the town of Bicester in Oxfordshire in England, is a regular stop for bus-tours of foreign tourists, especially from China. Stores have also been emerging in Japan since the mid to late 1990s. A majority of the products sold by clothing and accessory manufacturers at outlet stores are specifically manufactured for outlets using lower-quality materials and manufacturing processes than their higher-priced products sold in regular stores. Tags may list
187-924: The end of 2008 to bring the total number of stores in Turkey to six. Banana Republic opened in Saudi Arabia in late 2008, with a store in Mall of Arabia in Jeddah and a second in Riyadh Gallery Mall in Riyadh in March 2009. In March 2008, Banana Republic opened its 17,000-square-foot (1,600 m) store on Regent Street in London, England. On May 9, 2008, Banana Republic opened its store on Greenbelt 5 in Makati , Philippines. In October 2016, Banana Republic announced that it would close all its UK stores by
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#1732798128022204-523: The end of the year, due to falling sales. As of 2017, Banana Republic had over 700 locations, but as a result of European stores closures, there are none left in Europe. In August 2020, Banana Republic alongside Gap announced that they will close over 225 store locations as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic . The original plan was to close only 90 stores, however, they expanded the number as a consequence of
221-436: The financial effects caused by the pandemic. The company has not stated the exact locations that will be closed, but most will be stores within malls. Banana Republic produced a fall/winter capsule collection with New York-based fashion designer Peter Do in 2023. In 2011, Banana Republic had 682 company-owned or franchised stores in operation across 32 countries, shipped to 21 countries through company owned websites, and had
238-463: The first ten years in their memoir, Wild Company , published in 2012 by Simon and Schuster. Gap Inc. acquired Banana Republic in 1983. By 1988 the founders, Mel and Patricia Ziegler, lost creative control, eventually rebranding it as masstige , an accessible mass luxury clothing retailer. The literate articles, hand-drawn catalog, and eccentric tourist-oriented items were phased out and were replaced with more luxurious, but not unique, items for which
255-426: The founders of Banana Republic , a clothing and accessory retailer. Alongside William Rosenzweig , they co-founded The Republic of Tea . They eventually sold both companies. The Zieglers subsequently founded another apparel company, Zoza, but this was shut down in the dot com crash of 2000. Their eldest son, Zio Ziegler , is a large-scale metal sculptor, painter, and street artist . The couple published
272-558: The nearest department store, along major highways between metropolitan areas or in resort or recreational areas. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, outlet centers grew rapidly in the United States. A typical outlet center in the U.S. is opened with between 100,000 and 200,000 square feet (about 1 to 2 hectares) of retail space. This can gradually increase to 500,000 to 600,000 feet (around 5 hectares). The average outlet center has an area of 216,000 square feet. In 2003, outlet malls in
289-714: Was to dispose of excess or damaged goods. In 1970, Vanity Fair opened the first multi-store factory outlet center in Reading, Pennsylvania . Outlet stores enabled manufacturers to directly enter the retail field themselves and capture more of the profit associated with their brand names. Very few outlet centers were built within major cities, in order to minimize disruption to manufacturers' existing relationships with department stores and other chain stores which had traditionally sold their merchandise. To avoid "retaliation" against manufacturers from such retailers, outlet centers were often positioned at least 20 to 30 miles from
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