Gap to return to Oxford Street as work starts on concession in Next

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Feb 15, 2022

The disappearance of Gap from UK high streets may have been one of the most headline-grabbing effects of the online revolution and pandemic, but the brand is soon to make a comeback to physical retail in Britain, albeit in a slightly different form.

Work has begun to create a Gap concession in the Oxford Street, London, flagship of retail giant Next, which struck a deal to operate the Gap webstore in the UK under its Next Total Platform operation last autumn.

The joint-venture deal between the two companies sees Next owning 51% and Gap 49% of the UK business and while it's a mainly-online agreement it's now also rolling out to a limited number of physical stores.

The next Oxford Street flagship will be the first of the physical concessions for Gap with more to follow in select locations.

The Oxford Street store is a good place to start given its large size and the recovery that's being seen in footfall to the West End of London. The flagship also hosts other concessions such as the next-owned brand Lipsy, as well as Sockshop and Paperchase.

Gap threw in the towel as far as physical retail was concerned in the UK last year and its final physical stores closed in the summer, including two large stores on Oxford Street.