Forth & Towne in growth spurt

Forth & Towne will be expanding into new US markets. The fashion concept for women over 35 was launched by Gap Inc last year and the group said that there are plans to open 10 Forth & Towne stores in five new US cities: Atlanta, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco/San Jose and Seattle. "These new markets represent a high concentration of where our customers reside," Forth & Towne president Gary Muto told WWD. "We've been pleased with the reaction so far. We're relatively new, and we believe we have something innovative."

With the opening of these new stores, there will be 15 Forth & Towne stores throughout the US. The first opened last August in Nyack, NY. The new concept was initially plagued by declining sales and predominantly negative customer reviews. Many referred to the selection as a variation on the Gap brand and complained that too much attention had been paid to the appearance and architecture of the stores and less to the clothing range itself. The group advertised the store as a shopping experience, with style consultants at hand to advise and assist customers in assembling complete outfits.

The brand's executive vice president of design and product development, Austyn Zung, said that Forth & Towne was called to life to fill a gap. "A team of people here realized that there was such a lack of stylish clothes for more grown-up women at this price point," he told WWD. "At the collection level of design, they seem to do it really well - they realize that the money is in this more grown-up age group. But at the mass level, no one is doing a really good job of bringing well-designed fashion to this group of women."

Prices at Forth & Towne lay between those at Gap and Banana Republic, ranging from $50 (£29) to $200. With sizes varying from 2 to 20, Zung says the brand is filling a need that was not being met before. Forth & Towne stores carry four labels that were developed specifically for the concept. Zung categorizes the Allegory brand as "tailored femininity", Vocabulary as "eclectic style, with embellishment and embroidery", Gap Edition as "fresh, casual -American style for a more grown-up woman, and Prize as "trend-conscious".

Gap Inc operates 3,000 stores worldwide under the brands Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy and, most recently, Forth & Towne. Group sales were $16 billion in 2005, a decline from $16.3 billion in 2004.