Our company started nearly 45 years ago with a single store. Through the power of creativity and people, we’ve grown to six brands, operating in more than 50 countries with 135,000 employees around the world.
Today, more than ever, customers demand a lot from retailers, and they should. The emerging intersection of the in-store and digital experience influences their decisions about where, when and how they shop.
Over the years, we’ve made significant investments in ecommerce technology that are providing us with a competitive advantage. Looking ahead, it will be the combination of innovation and people that will further set us apart.
We work for a company with a strong set of values, which can be directly linked to our founders, Doris and Don Fisher. They invented specialty apparel retail, but Don also challenged us to live up to our promise to “do more than sell clothes.”
It is with this tenet in mind that I’m pleased to announce that, after many months of consideration, we’ve made a business decision that’s right for our brands, good for our people and beneficial to our customers.
Early this morning, we notified all our employees that starting here in the U.S., Gap Inc. will make a strategic investment to do more for our employees by increasing the minimum hourly rate for our employees to $9 in 2014 and $10 in 2015. This will ultimately benefit about 65,000 store employees.
To us, this is not a political issue. Our decision to invest in frontline employees will directly support our business, and is one that we expect to deliver a return many times over.
The people in our company who engage directly with our customers carry an incredible responsibility. Our success is a result of their hard work, love of fashion and commitment. We hope this decision provides them with some additional support as they grow their careers with Gap Inc.
Glenn Murphy
Gap Inc. Chairman and CEO
