Gap’s North American president Marka Hansen has defended the US casualwear chain’s controversial new logo and said she wanted customers to “take notice” of the chain and “see what it stands for today”.

Gap logo

The Gap logo before (left) and after (right).

The US giant, which unveiled the new logo in the US on its website and on Facebook on Monday, has faced a wave of uproar from social networks users, who have almost universally lambasted the new logo.

Comments on Twitter, Facebook and a multitude of blogs have generally reviled the logo, which has taken the classic blue Gap lettering and turned it black while adding a small blue box to the right hand corner.

“Our brand and our clothes are changing and rethinking our logo is part of aligning with that.”

Gap North America president Marka Hansen

Hansen said in an interview with the Huffington Post, that Gap’s iconic logo, replicated on thousands of hoodies and T-shirts, was more than 20 years old and that it “should evolve”. She wanted the logo to be “contemporary and current”.

She added: “Our brand and our clothes are changing and rethinking our logo is part of aligning with that.”

Many have suggested that the strategy is a marketing ploy to encourage chatter about the chain, which has struggled to engage with its customers and haemorrhaged sales both in the US and the UK. The chain has asked its Facebook followers to share their alternative designs for the logo.

Gap will explain the specifics of the designing process in “a few days”, said Hansen.

“I don’t think I can stomach buying clothes from your store anymore, not with that logo”

Feedback on Gap’s Facebook profile

Hansen said: “Now, given the passionate outpouring from customers that followed, we’ve decided to engage in the dialogue, take their feedback on board and work together as we move ahead and evolve to the next phase of Gap. From this online dialogue, it’s clear that Gap still has a close connection to our customers, so tapping into this energy is right.”

Yesterday, Gap posted this message on Facebook: “Thanks for everyone’s input on the new logo! We’ve had the same logo for 20+ years, and this is just one of the things we’re changing. We know this logo created a lot of buzz and we’re thrilled to see passionate debates unfolding! So much so we’re asking you to share your designs. We love our version, but we’d like to see other ideas.”

Comments in reply from the social networking site include: “Your old logo was crisp, clean, classic. It was well designed and easily distinguished. The new one looks cheap and quite forgettable. Don’t mess with perfection. If it ain’t broke…”, “I don’t think I can stomach buying clothes from your store anymore, not with that logo” and “You execute something that uninspired and then ask for another one for free?”

Gap also has a spoof tweet at @GapLogo, which has posted tweets such as: “ I have feelings, too. Jerks.”