Patrick Robinson, executive vice president of Gap Global Design for Adult and Body, has gotten the boot after four years with the brand, Women's Wear Daily reports.
The company's full press release reads as follows:
Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) today announced that Patrick Robinson, executive vice president of Gap Global Design for Adult and Body, is leaving the company, effective immediately.
"After spending the last three months in New York with the Creative team, I've made the decision to make a change within our Gap Adult design team," said Pam Wallack, head of the Gap Global Creative Center in New York.
The company said it will begin a search immediately. In the interim, Wallack will provide day-to-day management of the design teams, and has asked Jennifer Giangualano, senior vice president of Kids and Baby Design, to provide leadership and direction on Adult design during this transition period. Rosella Giuliani, who heads the brand's design office in Los Angeles, will continue to oversee Gap's 1969 denim product line, reporting directly to Wallack.
"Patrick has been a dedicated and passionate advocate for Gap brand and our customers over the last four years, and we're grateful for his hard work, especially related to our 1969 denim," said Glenn Murphy, chairman and CEO of Gap Inc. "Our leaders of the new Gap Global Creative Center are taking the necessary steps to compete and win around the world."
Gap Inc. has announced a number of organizational changes in recent months, including the introduction of Gap brand's Global Creative Center, directly aimed at improving performance in North America and fueling global growth. For more background on Gap Inc.'s global expansion and opportunity, read Gap Inc.'s global runway.
WWD called the news unsurprising, "considering Gap's problems in North America generating traffic and experiencing negative sales results. While the cash flow and the balance sheet have been strengthened, and international operations are showing promise, the performance in North America by Gap has been inconsistent."
We'd say it's pretty unsurprising given Robinson's track record -- he was fired from Perry Ellis and Paco Rabanne didn't produce his collections for three seasons, according to the New York Times. He also worked for Armani and Anne Klein.
Read the rest at WWD.com. And while we're at it, answer a question for us: