Dive Brief:
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Banana Republic has let creative director Marissa Webb go, the brand has confirmed, and she will not be replaced.
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Webb arrived at the Gap Inc. retailer in April 2014 amid high expectations, but sales have been disappointing.
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Webb will stay on as a creative advisor, and Gap Inc. will retain its stake in her eponymous brand.
Dive Insight:
The answer to the question of how long a Gap Inc. brand will give to a designer in a creative director role is, apparently, not long. As with Rebekka Bay, who was creative director at Gap for just over a year, Webb is leaving after about 18 months on the job.
Despite high hopes and acclaim from the fashion world, neither Bay nor Webb have brought to Gap or Banana Republic designs that capture shoppers’ attention or translate into sales. Some see the struggles at Gap’s brands — which haven’t been seen at its more successful Old Navy brand under the recently departed Stefan Larsson—as a clash between the merchandising and creative teams.
Or it could be more shuffling under CEO Art Peck, who came aboard this year.
In any case, Peck must now decide how to contend with the Larsson’s move to Ralph Lauren as well, from the one brand that was boosting Gap Inc.'s overall fortunes.