The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GPS) Q3 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

Page 3 of 10

And it’s very clear to me what the Board’s asked me to do in terms of stepping in and assessing where we are, capitalizing on our strengths, improving, and responding quickly to make things move in the direction we want them to go. But the Board is very, very diligent around getting a CEO in place and so we’re very active at that. But the Board’s also very determined to make sure we take the time to get it right. And as I said in my closing remarks, not just casually. But this is a great company. My confidence has gone way up being inside, that the strength of these brands, they are iconic. We’re seeing right now in our results, customers are responding, that when we get it right, they bring exactly on what they trust us for. And we will find the right leader and — that can do the kind of job that I described relative to being strong operationally and getting us past some of the deficiencies, whether they’re costs, other execution, right-sizing.

But more than anything, also being able to double down on what you know and expect and we expect of ourselves, and that is returning ourselves to really, really strong, creative strengths, brand architecture because I believe in the portfolio strategy. And so I’m not sure exactly when we will finish there, but we will land the CEO for the future of this company.

Bob Drbul: Thank you very much.

Operator: Your next question comes from the line of Alex Straton with Morgan Stanley. Your line is open.

Alex Straton: Great. Thanks so much for taking my question and congrats on a good quarter. I just wanted to drill down on the traffic or sales trends that you saw throughout the quarter. Did things — how did things kind of develop by month? We have been hearing some October and November weakness at select retailers, just wondering if you saw a similar exit rate as they did. Thanks.

Katrina O’Connell: Yes. Thanks, Alex. I think in line with others’ commentary, we did see strong volume in October slow a bit in the end and a little bit of a slow start to November. But that trend is fully contemplated in the outlook that we described today and a little bit of why we remain prudent on the outlook for fourth quarter revenue. But that said, its early days and we know that some of that was weather and potentially some other disruption happening out there. So we’ll see what plays out. But certainly, we did see a little bit of that similar trend.

Alex Straton: Great. That’s helpful. Maybe I could also describe your outlook on holiday. I know last year, customers kind of had a call to action to shop earlier. It seems like maybe shopping could be later. And then, our surveys are also just saying that, customers could be waiting for deals. Maybe what are your thoughts on that, as we head into the holiday selling period?

Katrina O’Connell: Yes. I mean, I’ve heard those various points of view as well. And so, we’re just prepared to compete when the customer is ready to shop. And so, we know we have to get out ahead of ensuring that we’re early enough, that we’re promoting at a time when she’s willing to buy, and we’re not waiting too late to clear the merchandise. And on the flip side, if they’re not going to shop until later, we don’t want to be too far out ahead of it. So we’re remaining vigilant in our view on what’s happening competitively, as well as taking a prudent approach to understanding where our inventory movement is and where our customer is shopping. So, I guess, I’ll have to say that, we’ve seen — we’ve heard a lot of those dynamics. We’re just watching it carefully day-to-day.

Page 3 of 10