Phoenix To Welcome Banana Republic To Area

This fall, high-end fashion retailer Banana Republic will open a new store in Phoenix at 20th Street and Camelback Road.

This will mark the first store in the area since the spring of 2017 when the brand closed its store at Biltmore Fashion Park.

A subsidiary of San Francisco-based Gap Inc., Banana Republic will be taking over a 5,500-square-foot location at the Shops at Town & Country.

Over the past two years, nearly 60 Banana Republic stores across North America closed its doors, while the company only opened up 14.

With mall attendance continuously declining, Gap is closing its mall locations and trying to open in areas where shoppers visit more often. The result will be shopping centers with daily needs, discount and specialty stores.

In 2018, Banana Republic reported revenue of $2.5 billion, which was up 3.2% from 2017, and made up nearly 16% of Gap’s total sales.

“Overall 2018 was a year of progress that strengthens our confidence in the relevance and potential for Banana Republic,” Gap CEO Art Peck said. “We saw the continued renewal of Banana Republic with positive trends and a stronger foundation.”

In the fall of 2017, Banana Republic’s sister concept, Athleta, opened a store in the same Phoenix shopping center.

“This is the third Gap concept we have brought to the intersection,” said Dave Cheatham of the Velocity Retail Group. “Twenty-five years ago when Old Navy was first launched by Gap, we found the real estate for their second national location at the Colonnade Mall across the street.”