Gap Recruits Top Talent from Coach and Estée Lauder for Cosmetics and Accessories Launch

Gap adds talent. The U.S. company has assembled talent from Coach and Estée Lauder to lead its new cosmetics and accessories line, with industry names such as Reed Krakoff and John Demsey. This new line is one of the pieces of Gap’s relaunch plan led by Richard Dickson.

Effective immediately, the group has appointed Deb Redmond, formerly vice president of beauty at Nordstrom, as chief beauty officer, and Michele Parsons, until now commercial and merchandising director at Kate Spade New York, as chief accessories officer with the goal of driving strategy, product development, customer experience and merchandising across the entire brand portfolio.

John Demsey, formerly president of Estée Lauder-owned Mac Cosmetics, and Reed Krakoff, former president and chief creative officer of Coach, have been named CEOs of beauty and accessories, respectively, leveraging their strategic guidance and decades of experience in their respective segments.

Gap puts sales at $7.188 billion, an increase of 1.12% over the first half of 2024

“Building on the renewed strength of our iconic brands, we are laying the foundation for Gap to accelerate long-term value creationand connect with our customers in meaningful and culturally relevant ways,“ the company said in a statement.

Gap announced in early September its expansion into cosmetics and accessories with Gap and Old Navy, two of its core brands, which will be available in more than 150 of the company’s stores by the end of November, after concluding its latest results with a flat sales and operating profit performance.

According to the latest data published, corresponding to the second quarter of the current fiscal year, the US group slowed its growth rate compared to the first part of the year, with cumulative sales of $7.188 billion in the first half of the year. Tariffs wreaked havoc: the company projects an annual impact of $150 million.