Forth & Towne
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Forth & Towne is a brand of clothing stores owned by Gap Inc., which also owns the Gap, Banana Republic, and Old Navy brands. It operates several test stores in the Chicago (Algoquin, IL; Aurora, IL; Skokie, IL; Schaumburg, IL) and New York (West Nyack, NY) areas. Forth & Towne focuses on women over 35 who grew up with the Gap brand, but have "lost touch" with it. The name of the store refers to both the fact that it is Gap Inc.'s fourth retail clothing brand, and that the store design attempts to instill a feeling of community. All Forth & Towne brand stores are currently slated for closure during 2007.
The first Forth & Towne location to open was in West Nyack's Palisades Center; it opened on August 24, 2005.
[edit] Closure
On February 26, 2007, Gap Inc. announced plans to close all 19 Forth & Towne locations by the end of June 2007. The brand had been extant for 18 months. The closure will affect approximately 550 employees. Gap Inc. anticipates $40 million of pre-tax expenses associated with the closure, over first and second quarters of fiscal year 2007.[1]