Gap has reported its fourth consecutive quarter of higher same store sales. The near single minded focus Gap has placed on the Old Navy brand looks to be paying off. Gap expects Old Navy to reach $10 billion in sales over the next few years and it remains the largest contributor of revenue to Gap. The brand has made a concerted effort to downplay both the Gap brand and its upscale Banana Republic in favor of the more down-market Old Navy and to a lesser degree its women’s athletic clothing brand, Athleta, as it tries to capture continued interest in the athleisure space.

Sales of denim jeans for women surged 79 per cent over the first six months of 2017 compared to the year-ago period, so Gap could be getting some of the tailwind from the trend. Old Navy is the fourth largest denim retailer.

Gap has nearly 600 stores. It seems to have been saved by adopting a focus on its discount chain, which continues to resonate with shoppers, still visiting bricks-and-mortar stores, and also catching a boost from changing consumer tastes. It's also benefiting from having been down for so many years, that any upward movement gets magnified.