Old Navy needs to pick its own niche, perhaps in the over 30 crowd where the competition isn't as entrenched. Old Navy needs to be careful to avoid overlaps with Gap and Banana Republic which are all part of the same company. Once Old Navy hones its target, it can do a better job of determining the product mix and positioning that will appeal to its intended audience.

Despite its advertising attempts, it's questionable if Old Navy has really gotten its message out to consumers. Brand image is hard to change especially since Old Navy catered to a different market for more than a decade. Consumers simply don't change their image of retailers that easily, particularly one that was as well branded as Old Navy had been in the past. it's campaign slogan, "get your fash'on" at Old Navy" is very weak for convincing consumers that Old Navy has made a new transition worth checking out. and, the name...

The company needs to be more innovative in coming up with an "Old Navy" "New Navy" messaging. and, of course, the new advertising will have to be directed specifically to the new target audience. Once there's a better advertising campaign, Old Navy will have to spend aggressively to execute it.
Success certainly won't be guaranteed in the brutally competitive retail market, but at least this time around Old Navy will have adequately explored market opportunities and then created the right market strategies to pursue them. This will certainly be an interesting year for the retailer.

Works Cited

Marketing myth of January. http://www.copernicusmarketing.com/discover/docs/myth.htm

Weiss, T. (2006, July 24). Old Navy goes to war. Forbes. http://www.forbes.com/business/2006/07/21/gap-retail-fashion_cx_tw_0724oldnavy.html