Farewell, Forth & Towne. We barely knew ye.
Gap, Inc. announced yesterday that they are closing all 19 Forth & Towne stores in 10 markets by the end of June. The closing will affect 550 employees, but the company says they will try to “redeploy” these people to Gap or Old Navy stores. They intend to focus all their efforts on turning around the Gap brand.
They launched Forth & Towne, targeted toward the 35-55 age group, just 18 months ago. The New York Times suggests that Gap Inc. and other companies jumped into the over-30 market because they do spend money on apparel, $42.7 billion last year, compared to their 20-something counterparts who spent only $20 billion. Despite that attractive number, many of these companies are getting out. Janeville, a brand launched by Gymboree Corp. has also closed down.
It appears as if women in the target age range are finding what they want at stores like Ann Taylor, Talbots and Chicos, along with traditional department stores like Macys.
Here’s my take on this.
I am the demographic and I’ll be honest, I’m torn.
I really resent being pigeonholed. I’m “older” but not “old.” I don’t want to look like “mutton dressed as lamb” but I am not about to give up and start dressing like a grandmother. I am never going to be Talbots head-to-toe, no matter what my age is. I can occasionally find something there that I can incorporate with my more youthful pieces, but that’s it.
However, I could see from the Forth & Towne web site (there are no stores in my market), that many of the items were age-appropriate, but not stodgy. That’s right up my alley. So, it makes me a little sad to see that a viable alternative for women like me is now gone by the wayside, in favor of ramping up brands that appeal only to women half my age.
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