The struggling clothes retailer Gap has appointed Paul Pressler, the head of Walt Disney's theme parks and resorts unit, as its new chief executive.

Mr Pressler will take over from Gap's current chief executive Millard Drexler with immediate effect. Mr Drexler announced in May that he planned to step down from the post.

Gap - which operates more than 4,200 stores, including the Banana Republic and Old Navy chains - has seen sales and profits slide over the past couple of years.

Plans to become more trendy have not helped profits

The company enjoyed huge success in the 1990s with its range of classic cotton casuals, but a recent attempt to introduce more trendy designs ended in failure.

Last month Gap reported a 37% fall in profits for the three months to early August against the same period last year, while underlying sales were down 7%.

Sales at stores open at least one year have now fallen for 29 months in a row.

Experience

Mr Pressler has worked at Disney - which is having problems of its own - for 15 years, including three years running Disney Stores.

Under his leadership Disney more than doubled the number of stores they operate from 160 to 335.

Analysts said Mr Pressler had to try to increase profit margins at the clothes retailer.

"He did run Disney stores, so there is considerable familiarity with the problems and opportunities that exist in the area of retailing," said Kurt Barnard, president of Barnard's Retail Consulting Group.

"What he has to try to do is bring more customers into Gap and get them to buy more merchandise that is not marked down, as has been the case for a long time."