The Gap, for instance, said its July sales jumped 36 percent.

The Gap said it did not comment on earnings until they are announced.

Gap says that expense and staff time are not even its main concerns.

Gap says that this project has taught it the limit of its own influence.

Gap, for example, said that sales in stores open at least a year fell 12 percent, steeper than expected.

Gap said that some problems emerged with all its brands.

The Gap said it would change course and support its brands with lots of television advertising in the holiday season.

The Gap, by signing this agreement, is saying that it will no longer allow its guidelines to be ignored.

While the Gap said that number was better than expected, analyst predictions had been all over the map.

But that's not quite so, the Gap says.