英国卫报：Gap是如何迷失自己的？(6)（在线收听）

　　Drexler “just crashed through all of that”, said the former Harper’s Bazaar editor Kate Betts, who worked in Paris as a fashion reporter for the trade publication Women’s Wear Daily during the late 80s.

　　《时尚芭莎》前主编凯特·贝茨说，德雷克斯勒“刚刚经历了这一切”。80年代末，贝茨曾在巴黎行业刊物《女装日报》担任时尚记者。

　　At Gap, where the lines blurred between men’s and women’s clothing, everyone could get in on the look -- not just baby boomers, but their kids, too.

　　在Gap，男装和女装的界限变得模糊，每个人都可以买到--不仅是婴儿潮一代，他们的孩子也是如此。

　　Drexler’s plan took more than a year to start showing results, but when it did, as he immodestly puts it, the brand took off like a rocket.

　　德雷克斯勒的计划花了一年多的时间才开始见效，但当见效时，正如他不谦虚的说法，“这个品牌像火箭一样起飞了”。

　　Between 1984 and 1985, Gap Inc’s annual revenue jumped from $518m to $647m.

　　1984年至1985年间，盖璞公司的年收入从5.18亿美元跃升至6.47亿美元。

　　By 1990, sales had reached $1.93bn.

　　到1990年，销售额已达19.3亿美元。

　　At that point Gap really did, as it is hoping to do today, provide something for everyone.

　　在这一点上，Gap确实做到了，就像它今天希望做的那样，每个人都可以购买到产品。

　　Drexler’s Gap was born into a golden age of American retail.

　　德雷克斯勒的Gap诞生于美国零售业的黄金时代。

　　In the 80s, suburban malls were booming, having become a hangout spot for teenagers, who flocked to their buffets of chain stores, food courts, and movie theatres.

　　在80年代，郊区的购物中心蓬勃发展，已经成为青少年的聚集地，他们涌向连锁商店的自助餐、美食广场和电影院。

　　Specialty apparel stores, the retail category to which Gap belongs, started to dominate.

　　Gap所属的零售类别--专业服装店开始占据主导地位。

　　Gap wasn’t merely riding that wave: “It definitely led the way,” said Steven Goldberg, a retail veteran who heads the consulting firm SGG & Associates.

　　Gap不仅仅是在乘着这股浪潮前进，咨询公司SGG&Associates的负责人、零售业资深人士史蒂文·戈德伯格表示：“它绝对是引领潮流的。”

　　Today, you can’t go online without bumping into a brand selling casual basics, from Uniqlo to the five different no-name brands that keep advertising “the perfect tank top” on your Instagram feed.

　　现在，只要你一上网，就会碰到一些卖休闲基本款的品牌，比如优衣库或者其他无名品牌，它们一直在你的Instagram上为“完美背心”打广告。

　　In the 80s, though, the revamped Gap had little competition.

　　然而，在80年代，改良后的Gap几乎没有竞争对手。

　　When I asked Cohen, the Columbia Business School professor, who it was going up against, he answered with one word: “Nobody”.

　　当我问哥伦比亚大学商学院教授科恩，它的对手是谁时，他回答：“没人”。

　　Gap clothes struck a balance of being stylish but not intimidating, affordable but good quality.

　　Gap服装在时尚但不古怪吓人、价格实惠又质量上乘之间取得了平衡。

　　The brand fit with an increasingly relaxed clothes culture, and when many American workplaces adopted the practice of “Casual Fridays” in the 90s, Gap was right there with an armful of khakis.

　　该品牌与日益宽松的服装文化相契合，当九十年代许多美国工作场所采用“便装星期五”的做法时，Gap就抱着一大堆卡其裤了。