Gap Inc has turned to Richard Dickson, credited with turning around the Barbie brand at Mattel, to lead the struggling retailer's revamp efforts after years of inconsistent sales and profits.

The exit of Art Peck in 2019 after nearly four years as CEO in the middle of a restructuring plan to split Old Navy and its namesake brand weighed on the company's fortunes.

Here is a timeline of the major problems at the company:

Date Events

Nov. 7, 2019 CEO Art Peck marks surprise exit in the

middle of a restructuring and Robert Fisher,

a member of the founding family behind Gap,

was named interim CEO

Nov. 21, 2019 Reiterates plan to separate Old

Navy from the namesake brand that has been

underperforming for a long time

Jan. 16, 2020 Gap scraps plan to spin off Old Navy and

instead aims to work to stem dropping sales

March 5, 2020 Names Old Navy head Sonia Syngal

as its new CEO replacing interim chief Robert

Fisher who stepped down as chairman of Gap's

board

March 12, Gap flags a $100 million sales hit in Asia

2020 and Europe from the coronavirus, which also

impacts its home market

March 18, Gap closes stores for two weeks to stem the

2020 spread of the novel coronavirus

March 26, The company withdraws annual forecast,

2020 suspends its dividend and draws down on its

entire $500 million credit facility to

weather the coronavirus crisis

April 23, Gap warns it may not have enough funds to run

2020 its operations in the next 12 months and says

would need to cut costs and raise money by

issuing debt.

June 4, 2020 Reports a quarterly loss of

nearly $1 billion

June 26, 2020 Gap enters into a 10-year deal with rapper

and fashion designer Ye, or Kanye West, to

create a Yeezy line of clothing

Oct. 21, 2020 The company considers closing stores in some

European countries, as it looks to save cash

while dealing with a sales slump brought on

by the pandemic and competition from

fast-fashion companies

June 30, 2021 Gap in talks with its partners to sell its

stores in Italy and France

July 11, 2022 Gap's CEO Sonia Syngal to step down just over

two years into the role, as it wrestles with

weak demand for its casual attire and a slump

in its stock price

Aug. 25,2022 An inventory glut and weak sales of outdated

clothes prompt Gap to withdraw annual

forecasts

Sept. 15, Kanye West's lawyers sends a letter to Gap

2022 notifying that the rapper and fashion

designer was terminating his partnership

Sept. 20, Gap eliminates about 500 corporate jobs

2022

April 27, The company cuts about 1,800 jobs in a second

2023 round of layoffs

July 26, 2023 Gap names Mattel's chief operating officer,

Richard Dickson, as top boss after a

year-long search

(Reporting by Ananya Mariam Rajesh in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)