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Gap to close 175 stores over the next few years

Gap Inc. will shut down nearly 22% of its North American stores due to declining sales, the clothing chain announced Monday.

The company will shut down 175 locations over the next few years with 140 closures taking place over the next fiscal year. Gap said it was rethinking its business strategy “for improved business performance” and “build for its future.”

“Customers are rapidly changing how they shop today, and these moves will help get Gap back to where we know it deserves to be in the eyes of consumers,” Gap CEO Art Peck said in a statement.

A spokesman for the company said it will reveal more information about the closures, which will save GAP $25 million annually starting in 2016, in the next couple of months. It didn’t indicate which New York City stores would be affected.

There are 800 Gap stores in North America, 500 “specialty locations” and 300 “outlet stores.” Jeff Kirwan, the global president for Gap, announced there would be a reduction of 250 employees of the Gap’s “headquarter workforce,” this year.

“These decisions are very difficult, knowing they will affect a number of our valued employees, but we are confident they are necessary to help create a winning future for our employees, our customers and our shareholders,” he said in a statement.