The Gap 2013 Annual Report Download - page 27

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Trademarks and Service Marks
Gap, GapKids, babyGap, GapBody, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Piperlime, Athleta, and Intermix trademarks and
service marks, and certain other trademarks, have been registered, or are the subject of pending trademark
applications, with the United States Patent and Trademark Office and with the registries of many foreign countries
and/or are protected by common law.
Franchising
We have franchise agreements with unaffiliated franchisees to operate Gap, Banana Republic, and Old Navy
stores in a number of countries throughout Asia, Australia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and
Africa. Under these agreements, third parties operate, or will operate, stores that sell apparel and related products
under our brand names. We continue to increase the number of countries in which we enter into these types of
arrangements as part of our strategy to expand internationally. For additional information on risks related to our
franchise business, see the sections entitled “Risk Factors—Our efforts to expand internationally may not be
successful” and “Risk Factors—Our franchise business is subject to certain risks not directly within our control
that could impair the value of our brands” in Item 1A of this Form 10-K.
Inventory
The nature of the retail business requires us to carry a significant amount of inventory, especially prior to peak
holiday selling season when we, along with other retailers, generally build up inventory levels. We maintain a
large part of our inventory in distribution centers. We review our inventory levels in order to identify slow-moving
merchandise and broken assortments (items no longer in stock in a sufficient range of sizes or colors) and we
primarily use promotions and markdowns to clear merchandise. Also see the sections entitled “Risk Factors—We
must successfully gauge apparel trends and changing consumer preferences to succeed” and "Risk Factors—If
we are unable to manage our inventory effectively, our gross margins could be adversely affected" in Item 1A of
this Form 10-K.
Competitors
The global apparel retail industry is highly competitive. We compete with local, national, and global apparel
retailers. We are also faced with competition in European, Japanese, Chinese, and Canadian markets from
established regional and national chains, and our franchisees face significant competition in the markets in which
they operate. Also see the section entitled “Risk Factors—Our business is highly competitive” in Item 1A of this
Form 10-K.
Employees
As of February 1, 2014, we had a workforce of approximately 137,000 employees, which includes a combination
of part-time and full-time employees. We also hire seasonal employees, primarily during the peak end-of-year
holiday period.
To remain competitive in the apparel retail industry, we must attract, develop, and retain skilled employees in our
design, merchandising, marketing, and other functions. Competition for such personnel is intense. Our success is
dependent to a significant degree on the continued contributions of key employees. Also see the section entitled
“Risk Factors—The failure to attract and retain key personnel could have an adverse impact on our results of
operations” in Item 1A of this Form 10-K.
Available Information
We make available on our website, www.gapinc.com, under “Investors, Financial Information, SEC Filings,” free of
charge, our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and
amendments to those reports as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file or furnish them to the
SEC.