Issue 06 - Student Newspaper - Texas A&M Corpus Christi

PAGE 3 NEWS / ISSUE 6
Closing the Gap
Corpus Christi Gap shutting down, part
of string of closures initiated in 2007
GOOGLE.COM - PHOTO COURTESY
Corpus Christi’s Gap location in La Palmera will close Feb. 23.
AlexisDeleon
sports editor
Almost seven years ago,
when La Palmera was only
Padre Staples Mall, Gap
opened its doors to the Corpus
Christi public. Now,
Gap is set to officially close
its doors on Feb. 23.
“The closure is part of a
strategy initiated in 2007 by
parent company Gap Inc.,”
company spokeswoman
Kimberly Terry said. “It is
downsizing its U.S. presence
while expanding overseas.
More than 170 stores have
closed since 2007.”
According to mall operations
manager Amanda Sanchez,
Gap’s departure from
La Palmera doesn’t seem to
be a measure of the mall’s
overall health. Sanchez said
mall traffic is strong, having
broken a record for most
visitors in a single day with
about 75,000 on Dec. 23.
Annual visits for 2011 were
up 0.8 percent from 2010, to
about 7.2 million.
“I haven’t accepted another
position yet; I’m
choosing carefully,” General
Manager Amy Flaherty said.
“Gap is making the right
move to close, although we
have been exceeding goals
for a few years now. Gap
Outlet would be better in
this market, and with our
closure, they will likely open
[an] outlet in Moore Plaza.”
The next closest Gap
locations are in Laredo,
San Antonio, McAllen and
Brownsville.
There will be no super
sales, as the store isn’t going
out of business; rather, it’s
just relocating. The store will
not be liquidating merchandise,
but instead will transfer
it to other stores. This move
will also leave about 20 store
employees looking for other
jobs. The company plans on
placing as many employees
as possible at its other stores,
including Old Navy.
“I think it’s unfortunate,
not so much for our customers,
but for Gap employees,”
junior Ana Rodriguez said.
“Many of us are struggling
to find any kind of work. My
plan is just [to] keep my focus
on school. I’m taking 11
hours this semester, so my
time would be best spent in
the library.”
The company’s North
American strategy involves
opening more outlet stores
while closing and consolidating
smaller retail shops
that are underperforming,
according to analysts. Revenue
at stores open at least
a year fell four percent in
December, a crucial month
because of the holiday shopping
season. That was below
the original 1.3 percent decline
that analysts had predicted.
Revenue at stores open at
least a year is a key indicator
of a retailer’s health because
it excludes the impact
of stores that were recently
opened or closed. Gap’s total
revenue, which does include
that impact, fell one percent
to $1.98 billion. All categories,
which encompass the
international unit as well as
North America’s Gap, Old
Navy and Banana Republic
stores, suffered declines
in revenue at stores open at
least one year. Analysts had
expected higher-end Banana
Republic stores to record
an increase of 1.1 percent,
but instead their sales declined
two percent. Revenue
at stores open at least a
year also fell four percent at
Old Navy’s North America
stores, four percent at Gap’s
North America stores and
six percent at all international
stores.
“It’s time for a change
for me; five years is enough
time,” Flaherty said. “Honestly,
though, I will miss my
team more than any other
part of this job.”
Regents from Page 1
the Center for Academic
Student Achievement.
“We want to make sure
that teaching remains a
very strong focus and an
academic priority,” Killebrew
said.
Areas the University
has already excelled in were
highlighted to the board,
including the Harte Research
Institute’s work during
the BP oil spill and the
nursing program’s selection
for a White House initiative
to align military health
care training with nursing
academic credits, as well as
the program’s spot in the
top three nursing programs
in the state.
Killebrew credits enrollment
growth as the force
for much of the activity on
campus and spoke about
the impact enrollment has
for both the University and
the city.
“For every 1,000 students
we add to the University,
it’s about a $24
million impact on the
economy…so it’s definitely
an economic driver here,”
Killebrew said. “One of the
things that has happened
to us is [that] we’ve grown
much faster than our ability
to facilitate.”
He estimates the University
needs just under $1
million in space, and there
is about $760,000 available.
“We’re getting pretty
desperate for space,” Killebrew
said. “We’re actually
looking at solving some of
our research space deficit by
acquiring some modulars.”
Aside from looking for
solutions to the space issues,
the University has also
looked for ways to reduce
costs for students, including
aggressive fundraising,
implementing flat-rate tuition
and textbook rental
programs.
“We are the most costeffective
of the institutions
of our size class,” Killebrew
said.
However, Killebrew
asked that the Board of
Regents remember that the
University is still growing.
“We are a campus that’s
providing exceptional educational
opportunity for
a historically underserved
population,” Killebrew
said. “I would argue that
the demographics of Texas
A&M-Corpus Christi are
the face of Texas.”
HILLARY VALLEJO - ISLAND WAVES
President Flavius Killebrew addresses the Board of Regents.