Gap to open its first stores in Africa

Clothing retailer Gap Inc will enter Africa this year, as part of an ongoing international push, with plans to open stores in Egypt and Morocco.

The company plans to open its first Gap store in Egypt next month and the first Gap and Banana Republic stores in Morocco in October.

The stores will house Gap, GapKids and babyGap collections and Banana Republic's accessible luxury clothes and accessories for men and women, the company said in a statement.

Earlier this year, Gap had announced plans to open stores in Serbia and Ukraine. It is a part of the company's international push to reducing its reliance on North America, where sales have been declining.

Shares of the company closed at $17.96 on Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Reporting by Abhishek Takle in Bangalore; Editing by Joyjeet Das)