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Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Reproduced with permission of copyright owner. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.Donald Fisher, who set out to create a new kind of clothing store to fill "The Gap" he saw in retailing, died of cancer Sunday at age 81.
Mr. Fisher wasn't known as a merchant or fashion designer. Rather, he propelled his business with an intense competitive drive and a passion for real estate. Under his leadership, the San Francisco-based retailer quickly spread to malls and urban centers across the U.S. He recruited talent to make up for his lack of apparel knowledge.
Gap became known as an iconic brand that made it the most profitable clothier in the U.S. during the 1990s. The company expanded both upmarket and down by acquiring Banana Republic in 1983 and launching Old Navy a decade later.
Today, Gap Inc. is one of the largest apparel retailers in the world, with 3,145 stores and $14.5 billion in sales last year.
Mr. Fisher was deeply involved in his company's business for 40 years, serving as chief executive from 1969 to 1995. He remained chairman until 2004.
At board meetings in the past year, Mr. Fisher was always the most attentive, said Gap Chief Executive Glenn Murphy. "More than anybody he was listening, writing stuff down, taking it all in," Mr. Murphy said.
The original Gap sold records along with every size and cut of Levis. Later, the chain would rise on the back of a charismatic outsider, Mickey Drexler, whom Mr. Fisher recruited from Ann Taylor in 1983.
Mr. Drexler, now chief executive of J. Crew Group Inc., persuaded Mr. Fisher to reinvent the brand, pushing for higher-quality materials and more classic styles. The new merchandise hit shelves in 1985 and immediately grabbed shoppers.
Despite the success together, the pair disagreed frequently. Mr. Fisher's aggressive push for store growth, as well as international expansion, was a particular point of contention.
"It was like any other committed partnership -- the partners fight for what they think is right," Mr. Drexler said in an interview Sunday, adding that the differing approachces were "critical" to Gap's success. "Of course, if you're the minority shareholder, it goes without saying that you have to fight even harder."
Mr. Drexler abruptly left the company in 2002, after 24 consecutive months of sales declines.
Gap has maintained profitability but sales remain lackluster. Total sales have fallen 11% in the last five years to $14.5 billion last year from $16.3 billion in 2004.
Mr. Fisher and his wife of 56 years, Doris, used their wealth to build an extensive art collection and support education. The pair has donated more than $100 million to the Knowledge is Power Program charter schools and Teach for America.
The art collection will be housed permanently at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
Credit: By Elizabeth Holmes and Stephen Miller
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