Banana Republic

Banana Republic is an accessible luxury  clothing and accessories retailer owned by the American multinational corporation Gap Inc.

It was founded in 1978 by Mel and Patricia Ziegler, who originally called the company “Banana Republic Travel & Safari Clothing Company.” The original concept for the company was to sell items that complement a safari and travel lifestyle. The couple worked for the San Francisco Chronicle. He was a reporter. She was an illustrator. They lived in an apartment on Russian Hill.

In 1978, they quit their jobs, moved to Tamalpais Valley. They wanted to start a business for income. But first, Mel received a magazine assignment to explore Australia for a few weeks with other journalists. In 1983, Gap purchased the company, changed the name to “Banana Republic,” and rebranded the stores to achieve a more upscale image.

History

The original Banana Republic was founded by Mel and Patricia Ziegler in 1978. The couple was known for acquiring interesting clothing items that their travel-related jobs brought them in contact with. They eventually opened a store in the Mill Valley area of Northern California. They were known for a hand-drawn catalogue of items with fictional traveler/explorer stories printed alongside, and their safari-themed retail locations. The Zieglers recount their adventures in the first ten years in their memoir, Wild Company, published in 2012 by Simon and Schuster.

Gap Inc. acquired Banana Republic in 1983 and by 1988 the founders, Mel and Patricia Ziegler, lost creative control, eventually rebranding it as masstige, an accessible mass luxury clothing retailer. The literate articles, hand-drawn catalog, and eccentric tourist-oriented items were phased out and were replaced with more luxurious, but not unique, items for which the brand was known, currently replacing higher quality materials for mass quality lower cost fabric standards.

Locations

The company operates more than 500 Banana Republic stores in the United States (including Puerto Rico), 40 stores in Canada, and 61 stores beyond North America. The Gap, Inc. is expanding its international presence with franchise agreements for Gap and Banana Republic in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. In 2015 Banana Republic opened a new flagship in Manhattan on Fifth Avenue and 18th Street.

Banana Republic opened its first store outside North America in 2005 in Tokyo’s Ginza shopping district. Banana Republic’s presence in South Korea debuted in August 2007 with a store in the Apkujeong district of Seoul.

In 2007, the first Banana Republic stores opened at The Avenues shopping mall in Kuwait City, Kuwait; Senayan City in Jakarta, Indonesia; and Pavilion Kuala Lumpur in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Banana Republic opened its first store in Turkey in March 2008 in the Kanyon Shopping Mall in Istanbul. By May 2008, İstinye Park Shopping Mall and Nişantaşı stores were also opened in Istanbul. More stores are planned to be opened in Ankara and İzmir by the end of 2008 to bring the total number of stores in Turkey to six.

Banana Republic opened in Saudi Arabia in late 2008, with a store in Mall of Arabia in Jeddah and a second in Riyadh Gallery Mall in Riyadh in March 2009.