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Revision as of 22:20, 20 May 2012

Ralph Lauren Corporation
Company typePublic
NYSE: RL
S&P 500 Component
IndustryRetail
Media
Restaurant
Founded1967
Headquarters650 Madison Avenue
New York City, New York 10022
United States
Number of locations
631 (April 2010)[1]
Area served
Various locations throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Oceania[2]
Key people
Ralph Lauren (Chairman & CEO)[1]
Roger N. Farah (President, COO, and Director)[1]
Tracey Thomas Travis (CFO, Principle Accounting Officer, Senior VP of Finance)[1]
Jackwyn L. Nemerov (Executive VP of Wholesale Brands, Licensed Products, Sourcing, Merchandising, Home and Asia Pacific and Director)[1]
Mr. Mitchell A. Kosh (Senior VP of Human Resources & Legal)[1]
ProductsApparel
Fashion accessories
Footwear
Fragrances
Housewares
ServicesCustomized formalwear
Foodservice
RevenueDecrease US$ 4.979 billion (FY 2010)[3]
Increase US$ 707 million (FY 2010)[3]
Increase US$ 480 million (FY 2010)[3]
Total assetsIncrease US$ 4.649 billion (FY 2010)[3]
Total equityIncrease US$ 3.117 billion (FY 2010)[3]
Number of employees
19,000 (April 2010)[3]
DivisionsRalph Lauren Media, LLC.
SubsidiariesClub Monaco
Websiteralphlauren.com

Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE: RL) is an upscale American lifestyle company and fashion retailer founded by American designer Ralph Lauren. The company focuses on high-end clothes for men and women, as well as accessories, footwear, fragrances, home (bedding, towels) and housewares; presents media content of its lifestyle; and it also runs a line of restaurants. Widely recognized for its Polo Ralph Lauren flagship label, RL Corporation also manages several other brands, based on the Ralph Lauren concept, under which it retails its merchandise. It also carries its subsidiary, Club Monaco. The company's media content is presented by its division, Ralph Lauren Media, LLC. RL Corporation is headquartered on the Upper East Side of New York City.[4]

History

File:Polo Ralph Lauren logo.png
Polo Ralph Lauren - the flagship brand of the company.

The origins of the RL Corporation lay with launch of Ralph Lauren's collection of men's ties - Polo Ralph Lauren - in 1967. Born in 1939 as Ralph Lifshitz in The Bronx, New York, to Ashkenazi Jewish parents from Eastern Europe, Ralph Lauren pursued a career in menswear and had gained background working for Datrian Riser. He received a US$50,000 loan to realize his vision for men' ties. By 1969, he had a boutique store within the Manhattan department store Bloomingdale's. Around that same time, he released a line of suits for women that were tailored in a classic men's style; and this was when the first Polo emblem was seen. The logo was on the cuff of the womens suit. In 1971, Polo Ralph Lauren launched its first womens collection of apparel and the first stand-alone store was opened in Beverly Hills, California. The company entered the European market, and went international, in 1981 with the opening of a store on New Bond Street in the West End of London, England. The Polo Sport line was introduced in 1993. In 1997, the company went public on the New York Stock Exchange. By now, the company was structured to operate as an umbrella for its brands and other ventures and would be named the Ralph Lauren Corporation by the early-21st century. It was originally named Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation, but in subsequent years the Polo in the name was dropped to reflect the company's presence in other concepts beyond the Polo line. The original Polo line remained as the flagship brand of the company. The company's official web site, and online shop, was launched in 2000 as polo.com by RL Media (a cooperation between Ralph Lauren and NBC). A more youthful line - Rugby Ralph Lauren - was introduced in 2004. By 2007, Ralph Lauren had over 35 boutiques in the United States and other international locations in London, Milan, Tokyo, and Moscow. Also in that year, Ralph Lauren Corporation acquired the NBC share of RL Media and the web site was relaunched as ralphlauren.com. By then, company revenue reached US$4.2 billion.[5] In 2010, Ralph Lauren opened in Paris.

Branding, merchandise, and licensing

Today, Ralph Lauren Corporation produces clothing, accessories, footwear, fragrances, and furniture all marketed under its portfolio of various brands.

Under the Ralph Lauren umbrella:

  • Mens brands: Polo Ralph Lauren, Black Label, Purple Label, RLX, RRL, Denim & Supply; and there is also Big & Tall, Golf sportswear (launched in 1998),[6] and Tennis sportswear.
  • Womens brands: Collection (a high-end line presented on the runway during New York Fashion Week), Black Label, Blue Label (launched in 2002), RLX, Lauren Ralph Lauren, Denim & Supply; and there is also Golf sportswear and Tennis sportswear.
  • Rugby Ralph Lauren (for younger consumers)
  • Ralph Lauren Childrenswear
  • Baby Ralph Lauren
  • Ralph Lauren Home

Subsidiary fashion brands of Ralph Lauren Corporation:

Retired lines:

  • Polo Denim
  • Lauren Jeans Co.
  • Blue Label (mens)

The company also operates the restaurants under the RL branding and under the Rugby Ralph Lauren branding.

Fragrances

Ralph Lauren corporation has launched various fragrances and related body care products for men and women since 1978. The products are manufactured under license by L'Oreal.

Licenses

To gain better control of the various brands Ralph Lauren has bought back in recent years many licenses granted in previous years. The company claims that all Ralph Lauren products, whether in-house produced or licensed, have been designed by Mr. Lauren and/or his design staff. As of 2009 product licensing partners for the U.S. market include L'Oreal (perfume and cosmetics), Peerless, Inc. (Lauren by Ralph Lauren, Ralph, Chaps and American Living tailored menswear), Warnaco Group (Chaps sportswear), HanesBrands (mens Ralph Lauren underwear) and Luxottica Group (eyewear). All of the 'home' products in the various Ralph Lauren lines are produced by licensing partners. Internationally, entire regions have been provided with the right to sell Ralph Lauren merchandise and operate branded stores: Australia/New Zealand (Oroton Group), Central America (PRL Enterprises), Korea (Doosan Corporation) and Hong Kong / Southeast Asia (Dickson Concepts). All domestic Ralph Lauren stores are operated by Ralph Lauren. Internationally some RL stores are operated by Ralph Lauren, about 90 are operated by licensing partners.

Stores

The Ralph Lauren flagship store occupying the Rhinelander Mansion on Madison Avenue in New York City.

As of April 2010, the Ralph Lauren Corporation operated a total of 179 full-price stores, 171 factory stores, and 281 "concessions-based shop-within-shops" - a total of 631 locations worldwide.[1] The figure reflects retail operations for all of the company's brands across various locations throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Oceania.[2]

Ralph Lauren operates its representative flagship stores in New York City on Madison Avenue - for menswear in the former Rhinelander Mansion, and for womenswear and home in another structure, across the street, which opened in 2011. The company also manages flagships, for retailing Ralph Lauren collections, in Chicago, Greenwich (USA), London, Milan, Tokyo, Moscow, and Paris.[7]

Sports sponsorships

In 2006, Polo Ralph Lauren became the first Official Outfitter of Wimbledon, redesigning the outfits for ball boys and girls, line and court judges. The Wimbledon logo was adapted for this purpose. Ralph Lauren's Polo brand and style was used and a range of clothing for men and women was launched on June 26.[8]

In 2005, Polo Ralph Lauren and the USTA signed a four year partnership making Polo the official apparel sponsor of the US Open throughout 2008. All ball boys and girls, and on-court officials, were dressed in specially designed Ralph Lauren apparel.[9]

The company also sponsors US professional golfers Tom Watson, Jonathan Byrd, Davis Love III, and Luke Donald; as well as LPGA golfer Morgan Pressel.[10]

In April 2008, Polo Ralph Lauren won the U.S. Olympic contract to outfit the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team.[11] Roots Canada Ltd. had announced its ending as the official clothing supplier to the US Olympic team on April 7, 2008.

In July 2009, it was announced Ralph Lauren will continue its partnership with the U.S. Olympic team for the 2010 Winter Olympics and the 2012 Summer Olympics.[12]

Corporate issues

Levi Strauss lawsuit

Levi Strauss & Co. filed a lawsuit against Abercrombie & Fitch and the RL Corporation in July 2007 for trademark infringement. It alleged that the separate retailers used Levi's trademarked pocket design of connected arches in the design of some of their respective products.[13]

South African Polo trademark issues

The Polo brand sold in South Africa is not affiliated with the Ralph Lauren brand. An independent South African company trademarked the Polo name and logo in South Africa.[14]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Ralph Lauren Corporation - Yahoo Finance profile". Yahoo Finance. Retrieved 10 May 2012.
  2. ^ a b "Ralph Lauren stores". Ralph Lauren Media, LLC. Retrieved 10 May 2012.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "2010 Form 10-K, Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation". United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
  4. ^ "Contact US". Ralph Lauren Media, LLC. Retrieved 27 January 2010.
  5. ^ "Please create a screen name to access this feature". CNN.
  6. ^ "RL To Present Fall 2008 Golf Collections at PGA Merchandise Show". golfbusinesswire.com.
  7. ^ "Our Flagships". Ralph Lauren Media, LLC. Retrieved 10 May 2012.
  8. ^ Los Angeles Times p.D4
  9. ^ Appelbaum p.40
  10. ^ Business Wire
  11. ^ reportonbusiness.com: Marketing
  12. ^ Eddie Pells (July 2, 2009). "US team to wear Ralph Lauren again at Olympic. SWAGg ceremonies". Associated Press. Retrieved July 2, 2009. {{cite news}}: line feed character in |title= at position 53 (help)
  13. ^ "Levi's says Abercrombie pick pocketed design (Denim maker files another lawsuit, this time against teen clothier Abercrombie & Fitch, over theft of its trademarked back-pocket design)". CNN. July 26, 2007. Retrieved June 22, 2009.
  14. ^ http://www.buildingipvalue.com/06MENA/300_302.htm
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ralph Lauren Corporation.

Polo Sport History

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