Gap to Sell German Outlets to H&M.

The American clothing retailer Gap has said that it would sell its 10-store German operation to its Swedish rival Hennes Mauritz. Gap, which has stores in Munich, Stuttgart, Cologne and Berlin, plans to exit from Germany in August. The German stores represented the company’s smallest international operation and accounted for less than 1 percent of Gap’s sales. The company said it was leaving Germany in order to focus on more profitable regions. The company operates more than 350 Gap stores in four other countries outside the United States - Britain, France, Canada and Japan. H&M plans to retain all the German operation's employees as it converts the stores to the H&M name. The Swedish retailer currently operates 239 stores in Germany.