sed $1.4 billion and painted the world pink for much of summer 2023, helped make the doll culturally relevant again. To many outside observers, Gap Inc’s portfolio of brands, including Old Navy, Banana Republic, Athleta and the namesake label Gap, had lost its luster, much like Mattel’s Barbie. The company had experienced several quarters of declining profitability and desirability and needed a turnaround. Enter Dickson. Since joining the company a year-and-a-half ago, he has hired top talent like American fashion designer Zac Posen as creative director and announced several culturally relevant celebrity-led campaigns and multiple best-selling brand collaborations. As he told Inside Retail in this exclusive interview, “Gap’s got its groove back.” Here, the CEO shares his four-pronged strategic plan to turn Gap Inc into a high-performing house of iconic American brands that shape culture, the role of ‘fashiontainment’ in retail and why he is “unabashedly pro-digital.” Inside Retail: You were at Mattel as president and COO for almost 10 years and were a key player in the pop-culture revival of the Barbie franchise. So, what prompted you to leave a company at the height of success to take up the mantle as CEO of Gap Inc, which was not exactly in the same position? Richard Dickson: I’m inspired by companies and brands that matter. Businesses that stand for something, with products and ideas that can have an impact on culture in very positive ways. Gap Inc is one of those companies with an incredible legacy and a portfolio of iconic American brands that not only shaped culture, they created movements. When I became CEO, the company was in the early stages of a transformation to restore operational and financial rigour. That work successfully strengthened Gap Inc’s financial footing. We’ve been building on that with a clear corporate strategy, vision, purpose, mission and values to ground the company, strategic priorities to focus our efforts, and a playbook to reinvigorate our brands. While it’s early, I’m proud of our progress. Transformation is a long game, but we’re seeing green shoots and it’s all very encouraging. IR: You’ve been in the role for a year-and-a-half now. What do you see as the biggest areas of progress made towards your overarching vision for the company so far? RD: Gap Inc’s vision is to become a high-performing house of iconic American brands that shape culture. Vision statements are purposely big and ambitious, so we’ve articulated four strategic priorities to focus our efforts and gauge our progress: 1) Maintaining operational and financial rigour 2) Reinvigorating our brands 3) Strengthening our platform 4) Energising our culture We’ve made solid gains against all four, performing while we transform. Today, Gap Inc is a much more disciplined company, on stronger financial footing. Our brands, while in different stages of reinvigoration, are all customer-centric with clear identities and growth plans that are beginning to drive both relevance and revenue. We’ve made appreciable improvements to modernise our platform, adopting a digital-first mindset and innovating tools to create a competitive advantage. Our culture is human-centered, rooted in values that empower our people, unlock creativity, and motivate high performance. IR: These moves appear to be working on a financial level, based on the company’s FY24 performance. However, a single year’s success does not a legacy revival make. What steps are you taking to ensure the brand continues to move forward in the next few years? RD: As I mentioned, transformation that can drive consistent, long-term growth is a long game. Thoughtful strategies, a commitment to doing what we say we’re going to do, and continuous improvement with a calm sense of urgency have served us well in the short term. As a result, to date, we’ve seen more hits than misses and that’s a good thing. But I’m also clear-eyed that every transformation, sooner or later, will face challenges. After all, we live in a dynamic world, where change is constant, and predictability is often difficult. That’s why creating a high-performance culture at Gap Inc is so important, because it ensures the resilience of our people and our company to beat any obstacle and thrive. IR: I want to home in on Gap, the brand that started it all. Over the past year, Gap has rolled out a series of impressive brand collaborations with hot players like Cult Gaia and Dôen and celebrity-led campaigns with pop-culture icons like Troye Sivan and Tyla. How do you ensure these high-profile projects translate to sustainable commercial success, rather than a flash-in-the-pan result? RD: Gap is a pop-culture brand that champions originality. It’s at its best leading the cultural conversation. That’s the brand’s legacy. It’s also Gap’s future. Now, to be candid, the brand was out of the spotlight for a few years, but as you note, that’s changing. Today, Gap’s got its groove back. How did we do it? By recognising fashion is entertainment. We call it ‘fashiontainment’. It’s rooting product and storytelling with a strong point of view that connects, appreciating that retail is detail so that our stores and our sites are both engaging and inspiring. Finally, it’s executing with excellence to earn every visit, click, purchase and ‘like’. As a result, not only are our fans rewarding us, but shoppers who had left the brand are coming back because they see themselves in Gap again. Collaborations with buzzy talent and partners who share our purpose and extend our audience have played a big role in helping Gap draw the spotlight. Collabs reinterpret Gap’s iconic products – like a denim jacket, a hoodie, or an Oxford shirt – in fresh ways. Each campaign is a building block in our broader strategy to shape the cultural conversation. And it’s working – proof that when we do things that are interesting, people will be interested. IR: Having worked in the retail industry for over 25 years, what are the biggest shifts you’ve seen? What strategies do you incorporate to stay on top of shifting consumer preferences and expectations? RD: There’s been an enormous amount of change and it’s impossible to address all of it here. So, I’ll focus on three big shifts Gap Inc is leaning into to drive greater performance. Digital technologies and their proliferation have had a profound impact on retail. So, it’s crucial that we embrace a digital-first mindset. Chief technology officers with real vision need a seat at the table with a voice in both operational and executional strategy. I am unabashedly pro-digital because I see technology, including AI, as a way to enable greater human creativity in both the virtual and real world. I want Gap Inc to be at the forefront, developing tools and innovations that empower our people to provide exceptional customer experiences whenever and wherever our customers shop. Social media’s scale and immediacy are dramatically changing the way we plan for nearly every aspect of the customer journey, from product development and launch to sales and marketing, even returns. Execution matters now more than ever. Product needs to both excite and generate likes. Our supply chain has to be incredibly agile when an idea hits and the stories we tell need to be not only buzzy but also deepen brand love. There is also experiential retail. Coming out of the pandemic the big question was, will shoppers return to stores? Thankfully, we’re seeing it. But we also recognise that, in general, there’s a lot of demand for shopper attention and an increasingly high bar for experiences that draw them in and keep them coming back, from store windows that tell intriguing stories, to environments that inspire and store associates who can advise, build relationships, and solve problems. when something’s not right. Real estate also plays into the equation. Locations obviously, but also landlords who can partner with us to build our businesses in mutually beneficial ways. IR: Brand turnarounds are never easy, especially with teams that have over 90,000 employees, such as Gap Inc’s. What are the qualities necessary to lead a team of this depth? What strategies do you incorporate to connect with your employees? RD: For me, it’s about championing the aspirations of this incredible company, which means leading with clear strategies and expectations, always centering on the customer, creating with curiosity, collaborating with candour and championing excellence – these are high-performing behaviours. I surround myself with the best talent. This is a team sport. What I bring to the role is to cultivate, lead and work on a team that’s high-performing. IR: Prior to your appointment, several industry leaders tried their best to reposition Gap Inc, with so-so results. Aside from your professional retail background, what do you think you specifically bring to the role that is helping take Gap Inc in a truly new direction? RD: Gap Inc has always been a strategically well-intended company but, no question, we’ve had periods of flawed execution that hurt us. Fashion, like entertainment, is about relevance driving revenue, a careful balance of art and science. Right now, we’re tuning that equation in the ways I mentioned above and seeing good progress. In addition to my skill set as an architect of transformation, I bring a tremendous amount of lived experience, both as someone who grew up in the industry and as a customer. Beyond that, I have total conviction that Gap Inc, powered by the people of Gap Inc, will lead in a new era. Exciting times, for sure. Stay tuned! This story first appeared in the March 2025 issue of Inside Retail US magazine.