February 4th, 2010
Below is a market data summary about an apparel retailer1 you’ve
probably heard of – the Gap.
Taken from: http://www.answers.com/topic/the-gap-inc
Instructions:
1. Take about 20 minutes to read the text.
2. The 2 questions below (I & II) shouldn’t take you more than 10
minutes.
3. The bonus part (III) could take you 10 minutes or more – it’s up
to you.
Good Luck! 
Apparel Retailers
On the web: http://www.gapinc.com
Employees: 134,000
Industry:
The Gap, Inc. was incorporated2 in the State of California in July 1969
and was reincorporated2 under the laws of the State of Delaware in May
1988. It is a global specialty retailer1 offering clothing, accessories, and
personal care products for men, women, children, and babies under the
Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic, Piperlime, and Athleta brands3. Founded4
in 1969, Gap stores offer a selection of classically styled casual apparel5
1
2
3
4
5
An apparel retailer = ‫קמעונאי הלבשה‬
Incorporated built
A brand = ‫מּותג‬
Founded (to found)  established, created
Casual apparel = ‫; כאן הכוונה לפריטי לבוש לא רשמיים‬
1
casual  informal ≠ formal
February 4th, 2010
at moderate6 price points. Products range from wardrobe basics such as
denim7, khakis, and T-shirts to fashion apparel, accessories, and personal
care products for men and women. It entered the children’s apparel
market8 with the introduction of GapKids in 1986 and babyGap in 1989.
These stores offer casual5 apparel and accessories in the tradition of Gap
style and quality for children - ages newborn through pre-teen. It also
offers maternity apparel9. It launched10 GapBody in 1998 offering women’s
underwear11, sleepwear, loungewear, and sports and active apparel. It also
operates Gap Outlet stores, which carry similar categories of products.
The Company launched10 Old Navy in 1994 to address the market8 for
value-priced family apparel. Old Navy offers selections of apparel, shoes,
and accessories for adults, children, and infants as well as other items,
including personal care products. Old Navy also offers a line of maternity
wear8. Acquired in 1983 with two stores, Banana Republic offers
sophisticated12, fashionable collections of casual5 and tailored apparel13,
shoes, accessories, and personal care products for men and women at
higher price points than Gap. The Company also operates Banana Republic
Factory Stores, which carry similar categories of products. It launched10
Piperlime in October 2006. Piperlime offers customers an assortment14 of
6
Moderate  reasonable, fair
Denim  jeans
8
A market = ‫שוק‬
to market = ‫לשווק‬
9
Maternity apparel = ‫כאון הכוונה לפרטי לבוש לנשים בהריון‬
10
To launch = ‫להשיק‬
11
Underwear = ‫תחתונים‬
12
Sophisticated  stylish, classy ; In a different context, it could also mean complicated
13
Tailored apparel = )'‫כאן הכוונה לבגדים מחויטים (חליפות וכו‬
14
An assortment  a variety, a range of
7
2
February 4th, 2010
the brands in footwear and handbags for women, men, and kids, as well as
tips, trends15, and advice from leading style authorities16. Acquired in
September 2008, Athleta offers customers women’s sports and active
apparel and footwear that is stylish and functional for a number of
activities, including golf, running, skiing/snowboarding, tennis, and yoga.
The Company’s stores offer a shopper-friendly environment with an
assortment13 of casual5 apparel and accessories that emphasize17 style,
quality, and good value. The range of merchandise displayed18 in each store
varies19 depending on the selling season and the size and location of the
store. As of January 31, 2009, the Company operated a total of 3,149
store locations. It operates stores in the United States, Canada, the
United Kingdom, France, Ireland, and Japan, while its independent thirdparty franchisees own and operate stores in Asia, Europe, Latin America,
and the Middle East under the Gap and Banana Republic brand names. Gap,
GapKids, babyGap, GapBody, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Piperlime, and
Athleta trademarks20 and service marks, and certain other trademarks,
have been registered, or are the subject of pending21 trademark
applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office and
with the registries22 of many foreign countries and/or are protected by
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
A trend  a fashion
An authority = )‫סמכות (גם רשות‬
To emphasize = ‫להדגיש‬
To display = ‫להציג‬
;
to be displayed = ‫להיות מוצג‬
To vary  to differ, to change
A trademark = ‫שם מסחרי‬
Pending  awaiting, expecting
A registry = ‫משרד רישום‬
3
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common law. The global specialty apparel industry is highly competitive23.
The Company competes23 with national and local department stores,
specialty and discount store chains24, independent25 retail stores and
online businesses that market8 similar lines of merchandise. It is subject
to various26 proceedings27, lawsuits28, disputes29, and claims30 arising in
the ordinary course of its business.
I
The following words were used in the text.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Maternity wear
Tailored apparel
A chain store
A market, to market
Independent
Use them to translate the following expressions / words:
English
Hebrew
(Change the font color for answers)
A maternity leave (of absence)
Tailor-made
A chain
The marketing department
Independence Day
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
‫חופשת לידה‬
‫מותאם אישית לצרכים‬
‫שרשרת‬
‫מחלקת השיווק‬
‫יום העצמאות‬
Competitive = ‫תחרותי‬
to compete = ‫להתחרות‬
A store chain = ‫חנות רשת‬
Independent = ‫עצמאי‬
Various  a variety of, different, an assortment of, a range of
Proceedings = ‫הליכים משפטיים‬
A lawsuit = ‫תביעה משפטית‬
A dispute = ‫ ויכוח‬,‫ התדיינות‬,‫מחלוקת‬
A claim = )‫תביעה (גם טענה‬
4
.1
.2
.3
.4
.5
February 4th, 2010
II
What is the name of each age group?
Copy & Paste the words from the text box in the correct order
according to chronological age as shown in the table below.
Age – in years
Age group
Adults
Children, kids
Toddlers & Infants
Newborn babies, babies
Senior citizens
Teenagers
0-2
3-4
5-12
13-17
18-64
65+
III – Bonus!!!!
I know you have recently had many foreign visitors and delegations in
your company.
Choose any 3 words from the text you have read to describe your
contribution31 to these visits.
You can use any conjugation32 of the word (if possible).
Below is a table of selected words you may use.
31
32
A contribution = ‫תרומה‬
A conjugation = ‫נטייה‬
to contribute = ‫לתרום‬
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February 4th, 2010
Noun33
Adjective34
Verb35
Adverb36
A brand
Casual
Moderate
To moderate
To be moderated
Casually
Moderately
To launch
Sophisticated
An assortment Assorted
A trend
Trendy
An authority
An emphasis
A display
A variety
A registry
A competition
33
34
35
36
Various
Registered
Pending
Competitive
To emphasize
To display
to be displayed
To vary
To register
To compete
A noun = ‫שם עצם‬
An adjective = )‫תואר (השם‬
A verb = ‫פועל‬
An adverb = ‫תואר הפועל‬
6
Competitively