Is Gap Too Far Gone?

The once-iconic apparel company Gap and its value-tier brand, Old Navy, are seemingly fading into irrelevance. Can anything—or anyone—come to the rescue?After Old Navy’s head departed in April , the company said Monday that Sonia Syngal, its chief executive officer, was stepping down . The already-battered stock has fallen about 5% since the announcement. Gap, in addition, telegraphed a worsened margin forecast for the current quarter, reflecting heavy discounts to manage its pile of excess inventory. The missteps under Ms. Syngal’s tenure—poor supply-chain management and declines at Old Navy—were especially surprising given her record of success managing both when she helmed Old Navy until 2020. “Gap had a very bad year in 2021, which was kind of the best year for retailers in modern history,” said Paul Lejuez, equity analyst at Citigroup. “Half of my retail universe had record margins last year, but Gap really struggled.”Gap is now valued at 0.19 time...