BUSINESS BRIEFS
Gap planning specialty 'shops'
Advertiser news services
NEW YORK — Gap Inc. said it will reorganize its stores this fall into four different sections based on merchandise categories, adding that it will update its fashions more often.
Beginning in July, an in-store denim "shop" will sell skirts and jeans in a greater variety of washes and fits, Cynthia Harriss, president of U.S. Gap stores, told investors yesterday at a conference in New York hosted by Piper Jaffray Cos.
An activewear shop will focus on items such as sweatshirts and hoodies. And a "clean" shop will sell items including black pants, khakis, skirts and woven tops. A T-shirt shop will likely be placed at the front of the stores in the summer months, but the shops will rotate positions with the seasons, Harriss said.
KRISPY KREME LOOKS TO ASIA
RALEIGH, N.C. — Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc., recovering from internal accounting problems that led to investigations and the ouster of its chief executive, said yesterday it was again looking abroad to reach new markets.
The Winston-Salem-based snack-maker said it has awarded rights to Krispy Kreme Hong Kong Ltd. to establish sales outlets on the prosperous islands of Hong Kong and Macau. The owners of the franchise already operate other restaurants in Hong Kong and Vietnam.
CONTINENTAL ORDERS 34 JETS
HOUSTON — Continental Airlines Inc. said yesterday it has ordered 34 new airplanes — with a list price of $3 billion — from Boeing Co. to increase its ability to serve long-haul routes and remove gas-guzzling planes from its fleet.
Chairman and Chief Executive Larry Kellner said the airline still plans to expand its passenger-carrying capacity 5 percent to 7 percent per year.
Continental said it was ordering 10 more Boeing 787 Dreamliner jets, doubling its previous orders. The airline also ordered 24 more Boeing 737s and will have 213 "next-generation" 737s when all its plane orders are delivered.
