Gap brings tech leaders and partners together for summit as it looks to build future of retail

Last week, Gap brought together 30 technology leaders and key partners for a summit at its San Francisco HQ.

In a LinkedIn post, Sven Gerjets, EVP, Chief Technology Officer at Gap, said: "The event was packed with energy, ideas, and future shaping conversations. Together, we dug into our key initiatives and explored what’s possible when great people and great platforms come together."

"To our partners: thank you for investing the time and leaning into this collaboration. To our Gap teams: thank you for the preparation, the content, and the hospitality that made this day special. The future of retail doesn’t get built in silos - it gets built in rooms like this."

Gerjets joined Gap last year, bringing experience from spells at T&T, DIRECTV, Time Warner and Mattel, migrating legacy platforms to digital first environments, modernising direct-to-consumer technology to support front-end order management, warehouse management and PoS solutions.

A Gap spokesperson said at the time: "The adoption of the right technologies can help us push the boundaries of operational efficiency, product creation and customer engagement. We have just started the journey with data science, and I am confident that Sven’s expertise and leadership will put us on the right path to success."

RADAR

Earlier this year, RADAR, whose platform combines RFID, AI and computer vision technology to track and locate in-store inventory in real-time, announced a partnership with Gap's Old Navy brand.

Old Navy's multi-year plans include a phased roll-out of RADAR's technology across its nationwide store fleet to provide its store associates with real-time inventory information to locate items anywhere in the store and deliver an improved customer experience.

"We're excited to partner with RADAR, which offers a sophisticated platform and analytics that will give our teams greater real-time inventory visibility to provide an even better in-store shopping experience," said Haio Barbeito, Old Navy President and CEO.

"Building on the rigour and discipline that is now core to how we operate, this new technology can place power in the hands of our frontline teams to better serve our customers – an important factor in our long-term strategy to make Old Navy the most loved apparel brand in North America, standing for on-trend style, consistent quality, and frictionless experience, all at an accessible price."

"In 2025, we are focused on innovating as we pave the way for momentum in the years ahead. This partnership brings proven capabilities that can generate value over time as we take a strategic, multi-year approach to merging technology and retail to deliver a human-centered, digitally led shopping experience," commented Gerjets.

"With RADAR's always on RFID technology, we will look to transform our stores into truly connected spaces, starting with Old Navy. Continuous product tracking can help us optimize inventory replenishment, improve customer and team member experiences, and give us more real-time insights that can support product design and innovation."