The Gap Inc, US fashion retailer behind the Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy brands, continues to recover strongly as it posted a sharp rise in profit for the May to July period driven by strong sales at the Gap and Old Navy formats.

The San Francisco-based company saw net profit for the second quarter ended 2 August 2003 rocket to $ 411.7m (€ 377m) from $ 93.4m in the same period last year. The Gap said that better product assortments and inventory management resulted in increased profit margins. The company has refocused its product range on classic fashion after an attempt to sell more trendy clothes led to falling sales and profits.

Sales for the quarter increased by 13 per cent to $ 3.7bn with like-for-like sales up 10 per cent. In the comparable quarter last year, like-for-like sales declined by 7 per cent. Total sales at the company''s 375 international Gap stores rose 25.1 per cent to $ 468m while increasing 9 per cent at its 1,438 US stores. Old Navy posted a sales increase of 15.3 per cent to $ 1.5bn.