Stefan Laban

Gap plans to expand in Latin America after its first namesake store in the region topped sales expectations. The Gap store in Santiago, Chile, which opened in October, was among the leading franchise performers out of 200 stores worldwide, said Stefan Laban, managing director of strategic alliances for Gap.

Gap is growing its footprint in Latin America through franchising. The company will open its first stores in South America in Chile this month through a partnership with locally based merchant Komax. Gap will also introduce Gap and Banana Republic stores to Panama and Colombia in 2012.