In 1969, a 41-year-old real estate developer named Donald Fisher couldn't find a pair of Levi’s that actually fit him. He had a 34-inch waist and a 31-inch inseam. At the time, department stores were a mess of disorganized piles, and finding that specific size was basically a nightmare.
Most people just would’ve complained to their spouse. Don Fisher started a global retail empire instead.
He and his wife, Doris, opened the first store on Ocean Avenue in San Francisco. They called it "The Gap," a nod to the "generation gap" that was defining the late 60s. It wasn't some high-fashion play. Honestly, they originally sold records and tapes alongside the jeans just to get kids in the door. The jeans were the hook, but the convenience was the product.
The Gap Founder and the Death of the "Department Store Drag"
The genius of what the founder of The Gap did wasn't about designing clothes. Don Fisher wasn't a designer. He was a systems guy. Before he shook up the apparel world, he was in the business of renovating hotels and office buildings. He looked at retail through the lens of efficiency and real estate, not runway trends.
Back then, if you went into a Macy’s or a Sears, the "jeans section" was a tiny corner with limited stock. You'd have to dig. Fisher changed the game by stocking every single size and length Levi’s made. All of them. In one place. Organized by size. It seems obvious now, but in 1969, this was like discovering fire.
The first shop was a total flop at first. They lost money for weeks. Don panicked and took out an ad in the local paper offering "four tons" of Levi’s at rock-bottom prices. It worked. People flooded the store, and the couple realized that if they stayed stocked and kept it simple, they’d win.
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By 1970, they opened a second store in San Jose. By 1972, they were public.
Why the Private Label Pivot Changed Everything
For the first few years, The Gap was basically just a middleman for Levi Strauss & Co. They were the biggest Levi’s dealer in the world. But Don Fisher was smart enough to realize that being 100% dependent on another brand's supply chain was a massive risk.
What if Levi’s raised prices? What if they sold to a competitor?
In the mid-70s, they started introducing their own labels. This was the birth of the "Gap" brand as we know it today. They moved away from selling records (which was a low-margin headache anyway) and leaned into the idea of "basics." They weren't trying to be Gucci. They were trying to be the white t-shirt and blue jeans of the American middle class.
The Millard Drexler Era: When Don Fisher Stepped Back
You can't talk about the founder of The Gap without talking about the guy he hired to save the company in the 80s: Millard "Mickey" Drexler. By 1983, the brand was getting a bit stale. The "generation gap" vibe of the 60s didn't mean much to the Reagan-era consumer.
Don Fisher had the humility—which is rare for a founder—to realize he wasn't a "fashion guy." He was a business guy. He brought in Drexler and gave him the keys.
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Drexler did something radical. He got rid of the Levi’s. All of them.
He turned The Gap into a vertical retailer, meaning they designed, manufactured, and sold only their own clothes. This gave them total control over the "look." Under Fisher’s guidance and Drexler’s creative eye, the store became a sea of navy blue, white, and khaki. It was clean. It was bright. It was predictable in the best way possible.
- They bought Banana Republic in 1983 (it was originally a quirky safari-themed store).
- They launched Old Navy in 1994 to capture the budget-conscious shopper.
- They started Gap Kids because, well, parents wanted their kids to look like "mini-me" versions of themselves.
The Reality of Retail Real Estate
Don Fisher’s background in real estate was his secret weapon. He knew where people walked. He knew how to negotiate a lease. While other retailers were stuck in dying downtown districts, Fisher was aggressively moving The Gap into the suburban malls that were popping up like mushrooms across America.
He understood that retail is about accessibility. If you make it easy to buy, people will buy.
One thing people often get wrong is thinking The Gap succeeded because of "cool" ads. The "Individuals of Style" campaign in the late 80s and the "Khakis Swing" commercials in the 90s were iconic, sure. But those ads only worked because Don Fisher had already built the infrastructure to put a store within a 15-minute drive of every suburban household.
He was also a bit of a stickler for details. Legend has it he’d walk into stores and lose his mind if the shelves weren't perfectly straight or if the lighting was slightly off. He believed the store itself was the brand.
Philanthropy and the Fisher Legacy
Outside of the stock ticker, the founder of The Gap was a massive figure in the San Francisco art and education scene. He and Doris built one of the most significant private collections of contemporary art in the world—we’re talking Warhol, Lichtenstein, Serra.
They eventually struck a deal to house the collection at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA). It was a huge win for the city.
He also co-founded KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program), which became one of the most successful charter school networks in the U.S. He wasn't just a "jeans guy." He was obsessed with the idea of "fixing" things that didn't work, whether it was a school system or a messy clothing rack.
Don passed away in 2009, but his footprint is still everywhere. Even if you don't shop at Gap anymore, the way you shop—the organized stacks, the vertical branding, the "basics" lifestyle—was largely pioneered by him.
What Most People Get Wrong About The Gap’s Success
A lot of people think The Gap "invented" casual wear. They didn't. People were wearing jeans long before 1969.
What Fisher invented was the standardization of casual wear. He turned a chaotic clothing market into a predictable, scalable system. He treated a pair of jeans like a commodity, almost like a grocery store treats a gallon of milk. You knew the price, you knew where to find your size, and you knew the quality would be consistent.
That’s why the brand survived the 70s, dominated the 90s, and is still a household name today, even as it struggles with the rise of fast fashion like Zara or Shein.
Actionable Insights from the Don Fisher Playbook
If you’re looking at the life of the founder of The Gap as a blueprint for your own career or business, there are a few "non-obvious" takeaways that actually matter.
Identify the "friction" in your own life. Fisher didn't have a vision of a global brand; he just wanted jeans that fit. If you find a process that is annoying, chances are thousands of other people are annoyed by it too. Solve your own problem first.
Don't let ego stop you from hiring your replacement. Fisher knew he wasn't a creative genius. He hired Mickey Drexler because he knew the company needed a different skill set to reach the next level. If you're the "operations" person, find your "creative" person.
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Real estate is often the hidden variable. Whether it’s digital real estate (SEO, social presence) or physical locations, where you "live" determines who sees you. Fisher didn't just sell clothes; he occupied space where his customers already were.
Double down on the "Basics." Trends fade. People will always need white t-shirts, socks, and well-fitting trousers. You can build a much bigger business on things people need than on things people merely want for one season.
Systematize the experience. The reason The Gap grew so fast was that a store in New York felt exactly like a store in California. Consistency builds trust. If your service or product varies wildly every time a customer interacts with it, you’ll never scale.
Take a look at your own workflow. Is it a messy department store pile, or is it a Gap shelf organized by size and color? Efficiency isn't just a corporate buzzword; it was the foundation of a multi-billion dollar empire. Focus on the "gap" between what people have and what they actually need. That's where the money is.