This Is How The Gap Dies
Dear Marker Reader,
A phrase being tossed around everywhere right now is “retail apocalypse” — first initiated by the dominance of Amazon, and now accelerated by the pandemic. It’s being deployed in conversations about main streets, e-commerce startups, and iconic retailers.
In This Is How The Gap Dies, we examine America’s most iconic retailer, asking and methodically answering the question: what would it take for The Gap brand to actually disappear? From real-estate woes and supply-chain tie-ups, to inventory hoards and debt obligations, how could the brand that once embodied everything — mall culture, khakis as cool, Gen-X angst — be dismantled into “assets coldly liquidated, stores emptied, signs removed.”
📉 READ: This Is How The Gap Dies
In other news, I’m thrilled to share that after eight months since Marker’s arrival, I’ll officially be taking over as Editor-in-Chief. I started my career as a business journalist back in 2003 as a fact checker at Fast Company magazine, and spent the next decade-plus there as a feature writer, then as executive editor at Inc. magazine. I was an accidental business journalist who loved everything about it: the ideas, the stakes, the competition, the creativity, its role in culture, and the fascinating people who continue to push business forward.
Back in August, I took the leap to Medium to help hatch its yet-to-be-conceived ad-free business pub as its executive editor — and I am so proud of the work we’ve done so far (we even won a business journalism award for our S’well investigation). But we’ve barely scratched the service. Now, more than ever, I can promise that we’ll continue to be your clarity in the chaos — and bring you the deep analysis, new ideas, and surprising, deeply-reported stories that help make you even better at what you do.
Until next week,
Editor-in-Chief, Marker//Medium
