Michael Francis takes on a new position at Gap Inc. with broad marketing and customer engagement responsibilities.Michael Francis takes on a new position at Gap Inc. with broad marketing and customer engagement responsibilities.
Michael Francis, a key player at Target Corp. during the discounter’s heyday in the 2000s, has been appointed chief customer officer at and head of marketing shared services at Gap Inc.
On Wednesday, the San Francisco-based retail giant said Francis will lead ’s “end-to-end customer strategy, with responsibility for strengthening brand storytelling, deepening customer engagement, and evolving the customer experience across touchpoints.”
As head of the marketing shared services group, a new position at Gap Inc., Francis will oversee media strategy and execution and “help drive greater integration and effectiveness across the company’s portfolio of brands,” which includes Gap, Banana Republic and Athleta as well as Old Navy.
Francis is best known for playing a pivotal role as Target’s chief marketing officer, molding the store’s “cheap chic” identity by tying low prices to trendy, modern designs. The effort went a long way to differentiating the retailer from Walmart and the now-defunct Sears and Kmart as well as department stores, dollar stores and offpricers.
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He was instrumental in orchestrating collaborations with Isaac Mizrahi, Stephen Sprouse and Missoni, among other designers. And during his tenure some big Target moments happened. The New Yorker started putting Target’s red bull’s-eye on its cartoons, a Target runway show was staged at New York’s Rockefeller Center, and a Target pop-up shop was installed on a ferry to the city.
After serving as Target’s chief merchant, Francis was lured by JCPenney’s then chief executive officer Ron Johnson to serve as president in 2012. Johnson was rolling out a bold transformation strategy at the struggling Penney’s, which quickly proved to be flawed as it ignored what customers wanted, and nearly put that retailer out of business. But it was a short stint for Francis, who lasted only eight months Penney’s. He was responsible for all of the company’s merchandising, marketing, planning and allocation, and product development and sourcing functions.
After Penney’s, Francis became chief global brand officer at DreamWorks Animation. He has also worked on a consulting basis at times, advising Walmart and Old Navy in the past.
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Gap Inc. said Francis will report to Horacio “Haio” Barbeito, president and CEO of Old Navy and will work closely with leaders across Old Navy and Gap Inc. to align brand, marketing and customer experience strategies to support the company’s growth.
“Old Navy is a beloved brand with real momentum, and Michael knows how to translate customer insight into relevance, resonance and growth,” Barbeito said in a statement. “He brings a rare combination of strategic vision, creative instinct and commercial rigor. As we continue to evolve the brand, Michael will help sharpen how we show up for customers and strengthen every connection they have with Old Navy.”
“Michael is one of the most respected brand builders in retail,” added Richard Dickson, president and CEO of Gap Inc. “With deep experience spanning retail, brand and entertainment, he has a proven ability to connect creativity, culture and commerce in ways that energize the business, attract customers, and build stronger brands with lasting loyalty. His leadership will be instrumental in strengthening Old Navy, advancing more integrated marketing capabilities across Gap Inc., and bringing to life a compelling vision rooted in meaningful storytelling.”
Francis said: “I’m honored to join Old Navy at such an exciting moment for the brand. Old Navy has a powerful connection with customers and enormous opportunity ahead. I’m excited to partner with Haio and the team to build on that momentum, elevate the customer experience and tell stories that are distinctive, modern and unmistakably Old Navy.”
Old Navy’s marketing is multitiered, focused on maintaining a family appeal, aggressively promoting low prices and special deals, periodically partnering with celebrities to tell stories and inject humor and quirkiness. The retailer recently started collaborating with designers, including John Rogers on the Old Navy x John Rogers collection, which was introduced in April. Old Navy’s first collaborative designer collection was with Anna Sui last fall.
The late New York Times fashion reporter Carrie Donovan famously appeared in some of Old Navy’s quirkiest ads in the late ’90s wearing her signature huge black glasses and exhorting Old Navy’s merchandise as “fabulous.” Among others appearing in Old Navy ads in the recent past are Lindsay Lohan, Morgan Fairchild, Dylan Efron, Charo and Kenan Thompson.
Zac Posen, Gap Inc.’s executive vice president and creative director and Old Navy’s chief creative officer, described part of Old Navy marketing approach in a recent interview with WWD, saying: “We have taken the initiative in terms of bringing great American designers to our Old Navy customer. That can be from established icons to up-and-comers to the stars of today. Bringing great design, great storytelling and making it accessible at great value and great quality is something that’s really important to me. It’s an important dialogue for us to be having at Old Navy. I think it’s important for brands at our scale to also be supporting the American design community.”
One early assignment for Francis could revolve around a new format, or subbrand that Old Navy is expected to launch later this year, sources have told WWD. Reportedly, the new format will focus on athleisure, capitalizing on a growing category where Old Navy already does huge volume. One source who chose to remain anonymous, said, “They’re calling it Old Navy Sport.” The source suggested that leggings, sweats, sport bras and T-shirts could be part of the assortment, but it’s unclear whether much in the way of performance wear will be included. The source also said that Old Navy is considering a free-standing athleisure format.
In today’s economy where consumers are strapped for cash and seeing prices rise, Old Navy has managed to show consistent sales increases and gain some market share recently. For the fourth-quarter of 2025, total and comparable sales increased 3 percent to $2.3 billion, marking the fifth consecutive quarter of positive comps. Full-year sales rose 3 percent to $8.7 billion. Old Navy, launched in 1994 by then Gap Inc. CEO Mickey Drexler who is currently chairman of Alex Mill, has more than 1,200 stores as well as an e-commerce operation.
Courtesy of Old Navy
