(Filed Under Financial and General Interest News). Gap Inc. is planning to open eight to 10 Athleta stores by the end of this year, with openings in Manhattan and Southern California soon and stores in Minneapolis, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. on the horizon.

The New York locations will open in August and be found at 216 Columbus Ave. and 1517 Third Ave. on the Upper West Side and the Upper East Side respectively. Southern California locations will be found at the Fashion Island mall in Newport Beach, Calif. and The Grove shopping center in Los Angeles.

Two bricks-and-mortar Athleta store have already opened in Northern California. Gap Inc. announced the Minneapolis, Philadelphia and Washington D.C. openings, but stated it was too early to disclose locations or opening dates. Athleta locations are generally between 3,000 and 5,000 square feet and are currently being determined by where catalog and online orders are originating.

Athleta, a women’s fitness and activewear apparel chain, was identified as one of Gap Inc.’s primary growth vehicles in North America, even as the company reduces the square footage of Gap stores and closes over 200 retail locations. Gap Inc. Chief Executive Officer Glenn Murphy stated that as many as 50 Athleta stores may be open by the end of 2013.

Petaluma, Calif.-based Athleta was founded as a catalog in 1998, established a website in 2000 and was purchased by Gap Inc. for $150 million in 2008.

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Published 07-08-2011 by Katherine Rautenberg