Apparel & Retail CEO Summit, Day Two

Art Peck on Gap’s Sustainability Story Gap Inc. president and chief executive officer Art Peck could have talked about many things at the WWD Apparel & Retail CEO Summit on Wednesday, but given the company’s performance — the retailer suffered another period of poor financial results in the recent second quarter when earnings practically halved — sustainability was a shrewd choice of topics. The Gap Inc. ceo said the company has embraced sustainability, and in doing so, discovered that doing good is also good business. “When we push real, substantial and authentic values to the forefront of our brands, it manifests itself in our profitability, a couple of unit points at least,” he said. “Market share change is going to accelerate as brands push their values to the forefront. The customer will migrate relatively quickly, and the younger the customer, the more aligned they are with those values.” Peck’s interest in sustainability and climate change has been fueled by altruism and the implications for The Gap’s performance. “And it’s personal,” he said. “I live in California. At the end of last week and over the weekend, I spent 72 hours without power, half of the time breathing smoke and surrounded by fire. We

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