Gap Buys Athleta
San Francisco–based retail giant Gap Inc. purchased Petaluma-based active-apparel brand Athleta Inc. for about $150 million in cash. According to a Gap statement, Athleta will become the “fifth tab” on the Gap Universality e-commerce site, and Athleta products will eventually be sold online alongside Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy and Piperlime merchandise. Universality allows customers to shop among all of Gap’s brands, placing merchandise from multiple brands in one shopping cart while paying a single shipping fee. Athleta was founded 10 years ago and has grown into a lifestyle brand for yoga, running, skiing, snowboarding and surfing. Athleta Chief Executive Officer Joe Teno will remain with the company as president of Athleta at Gap Inc. upon the completion of the deal.
