Portsmouth Gunwharf Quays brand Gap to close 230 stores worldwide

The retailer, which has a store at Portsmouth’s Gunwharf Quays, has not said where shops will shut or how many jobs will be affected. 

However all 230 closures over the next two years will be of Gap stores, not other brands such as Old Navy. 

The retailer's San Francisco-based parent company, Gap Inc, is splitting into two companies, one of which will consist of the eponymous brand and others including Banana Republic.

A second company will solely house its Old Navy brand, which has been out-performing its stablemates.

At the end of 2018 there were 1,242 company-operated Gap shops worldwide with 152 in Europe, the majority of which were in the UK.

Art Peck, president and chief executive of Gap Inc, said the company knows ‘what we need to do to win’.

He added: ‘Combined with the separation we announced today, we will be well positioned to leverage the power of our brands and the talented teams that lead them to accelerate the pace of change, improve execution and deliver profitable growth.’

Gap Inc closed all eight of its Banana Republic stores in the UK in 2016.

High street shops have been battered in recent years by a challenging sales environment caused by rising costs and changing consumer habits.