Fall into the Gap

September 2, 2009 - 10:16 AM by

Image0061The question that people were asking each other last week in Jerusalem was whether a navy blue Gap shopping bag had appeared on their front door handle. I hadn’t, but as a frequent clothing buyer, I had received a NIS 50 coupon for the Gap from Isracard, my credit card company. Which, if you ask me, is better than an empty shopping bag.

So yes, there was some keen curiousity about the opening of the Gap in Jerusalem’s Mamilla shopping mall, given that this popular clothing retailer — part of the Old Navy/Banana Republic group — was finally coming to Israel and to Jerusalem, no less. Would the clothing cost the same as it does in the States, wondered the locals. Did they open in Jerusalem because rent is cheaper than it is in Tel Aviv? Would Israelis actually buy at the Jerusalem Gap, paying the probably higher prices? Would there be the end-of-season sale racks that there are in the States, where you can snatch up pieces for $6.99?

Probably not, assumed the Anglo Saxons, who swore never to be an Israeli ‘frier’ and buy from the Jerusalem Gap.

Reports began filtering back following the August 24 opening. The store was packed, one source told me, and it was only tourists doing the buying. Someone else said that the usual $65 jeans cost some NIS 300, which comes to some $80 in shekel terms.

So I had to head there myself to check out how the Gap was faring. On a sunny Tuesday morning, just one week after the grand opening, the store was full on both the Baby Gap and Adult Gap sides. People were walking out with more than one bag, and they looked Israeli to me, which wasn’t surprising. As for prices, they were about $15 higher, on average, than what you would pay at the Gap in the U.S. Of course, some of the fall items are already on sale on-line, whereas there were no sales at the Jerusalem store. Not yet, one salesperson told me, promising that we would be seeing some of the fabulous Gap sales in the holy city.

Image0063In the meantime, it was fun to peruse the familiar-looking racks and shelves. The jeans styles are translated into Hebrew, so that you can figure out if Sexy Boot jeans are for you, or whether the Little Pocket T is your perfect tee-shirt. I restrained myself, even with my NIS 50 coupon, cuz I’d still rather rely on online shopping through one of my frequent U.S. travelers.

Now when H&M reaches Malcha, that may be a different kind of challenge.

Tags: , , • Category: Business, Immigrant Moments, Israeliness 

Comments

2 Comments on Fall into the Gap

  1. tel aviv apartment rent on Sat, Sep 5th 2009 4:52 AM

    2. It seems pretty clear that conservatives are perfectly content to make things up when the facts are inconvenient for them.

  2. Hello Tel Aviv | ISRAELITY on Mon, Feb 15th 2010 11:42 AM

    3. [...] not too worried about whether Tel Aviv shoppers will check out their very own Gap. After all, Jerusalem’s Mamilla store is considered a huge success, given that Israel is a great example of a small market in which the [...]

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