Jul. 23—Plans are taking shape for Old Navy to debut at Nez Perce Plaza in Lewiston.

A building permit application has been submitted to the city of Lewiston for a 12,496-square-foot structure to house a location of the national clothing chain with 60 parking spots. The permit application is currently under review.

Attempts by the Tribune to get comment from Old Navy were not successful.

The store would be located between Village Centre Cinemas and Ulta Beauty at 2638 Nez Perce Drive. The cosmetics store debuted in 2019 and was one of the last additions to the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley's retail scene, which has contracted in the last five years.

Macy's, J.C. Penney, Rue21, Bi-Mart and Kmart are among the stores that have left the area as part of reducing their brick-and-mortar footprints. Shopko's Lewiston store closed when the chain folded nationwide.

Old Navy is a brand of Gap Inc., which describes itself as the "largest specialty apparel company in the U.S."

It was started by Don and Doris Fisher with a single store in San Francisco in 1969, selling men's Levi's jeans, tapes and records.

In North America, the company now has 1,258 Old Navys, including one that opened in Moscow in 2007, 512 Gaps, 445 Banana Republics and 231 Athletas.

In recent months, Gap Inc. has faced challenges. It had a loss of $162 million for the 13 weeks that ended April 30, compared with earnings of $166 million for the same time last year, according to its May 26 earnings report.

The business has "grappled with supply chain obstacles," according to a July 11 CNBC story.

"An imbalanced mix of clothing sizes, following a push into plus-size styles, coupled with an uptick in price-lowering promotions put a dent in Old Navy's performance," according to the story.

Earlier this month, Gap Inc. announced its president and CEO, Sonia Syngal, was stepping down and being replaced with Bob Martin, Gap Inc.'s board chairperson, on an interim basis. She had been in the position since March 5, 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic started. Martin is a 40-year industry veteran with experience at Dillard's Inc. and Walmart, where he served as CEO of its international division, according to a news release from Gap Inc.

At the same time, Gap Inc. shared that Horacio "Haio" Barbeito, a 26-year Walmart executive, would start Aug. 1 as president and CEO of Old Navy.

Barbeito was most recently president and CEO of Walmart Canada, where he oversaw more than 70,000 employees and "drove significant growth in the online business," according to the Gap Inc. news release.

At Old Navy, Barbeito has been tasked with leading efforts to deliver on its "unique value proposition, offering style, fit, quality and cultural relevance at jaw-dropping prices," according to the news release.

Williams may be contacted at ewilliam@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2261.