BUSINESS: The Ultimate Resource

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MANAGEMENT GIANT

Ralph Lauren
Timeline
1939 19621964 1968 1971 1986 1993 1997 1997 2000 Born. Serves in the U.S. Army. Forms Polo. First store opens. Flagship store opens on Madison Avenue, New York City. The Polo Sport store opens. Awarded 1996 Menswear Designer of the Year by the Council of Fashion Designers of America. Polo Ralph Lauren I.P.O. Revenues of $1.6 billion.

Summary
Today designer stores are commonplace, and designer brands sell everything from sunglasses to perfume. But it wasnt always like that. In the days before DKNY, CK, and Armani, there was Polo by the American designer Ralph Lauren (1939). Laurens early life suggested little of the success that lay ahead, other than a predilection for expensive suits. But, in the late 1960s, after persuading the New York store Bloomingdales to sell his unfashionably wide ties, Lauren never looked back. From a single store in 1971, the Lauren fashion empire now numbers over 130 stores with revenues of over $1 billion. As Lauren designs on into a new millennium, the Polo brand continues to reflect his ability to capture the essence of a certain American way of life.

Background and Rise

Born in New York City in 1939, Ralph Lauren always had an eye for fashion. The youngest of four children, his fashion flair and sense of color may have been inherited from his father, who was a mural painter. His education was highly conventional. After high school it wasnt fashion college that awaited him but City College, Manhattan, and a business degree. As a teenager Lauren was a snappy dresser. He didnt stint on quality,
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BUSINESS: The Ultimate Resource

March 2005 Upgrade 30

preferring to pay $100 for a suit (at that time a lot of money), rather than buy a cheaper, less well-made one. This was not always a popular policy with his parents. Two years into his business degree program, Lauren took a job as a salesman at a glove company. This was followed by a similar job at a tie manufacturers. It was while still at the tie firm, A. Rivetz & Co., that Lauren took the first tentative steps towards building his fashion empire. He began to create his own tie designs. With $50,000 and his designs, Lauren left Rivetz to form his own company, Polo, with his older brother. It was 1968.

Defining Moments
Lauren chose the name Polo because of its preppy connotations. Polo began life as a tie store. His ties were distinctively widewider than was fashionable at the time. While the customers appreciated the new designs, the stores werent convinced. Lauren tried to get the famous New York Citystore Bloomingdales to stock his products. Bloomingdales was interested but asked if he would modify his designs by narrowing the ties to make them more in keeping with the fashion of the day. They also insisted he remove his brand label. The plucky Lauren called the stores bluff and refused. It wasnt long before Bloomingdales was back, agreeing to stock Polo designer ties on Laurens terms. Lauren could never have succeeded without an innate sense of style and an innovative eye for fashion. Equally important was his understanding of how to build a brand. Lauren made Polo and its associated brands a lifestyle, as well as a design choice. Throughout the 1980s the Polo brand was backed by distinctive advertising that conjured up a variety of associations, from safaris to the English aristocracy. Ralph Laurens first store opened in 1971. In the seventies the concept of the designer store was still in its infancy. Lauren was one of the first mens fashion designers to open a store in his own name. With the help of his brother Jerry, he continued to establish the brand with season after season of clothes that aimed to be stylish, classic, and timeless. As more stores opened, Lauren extended his range to womens wear, and then to his home collection line, comprising linen, towels, furniture, and other similar products. The flagship store, Rhinelander Mansion on Madison Avenue, was opened in 1986, and in 1993 the Polo Sport store opened across the street. While the 1980s saw an extension of the Polo brand into new areas, it also brought new competition. Suddenly businessmen were wearing a new brand of suitthe Giorgio Armani power suit. Lauren modified his designs to produce crisp-looking sophisticated suits. What he would not do was abandon the ethos of the Polo brand for short-term gain. Im a long-term person, he has said. Im long-term about my work. Im a builder. Everything I do is an extension of my life. Laurens long-term perspective proved astute. What was considered the height of fashion in the 1980s seemed unduly ostentatious in the altogether more reserved 1990s. In June 1997 the company went public. The I.P.O raised $767 million for Polo Ralph Lauren and made Lauren a very wealthy man. As befits the man behind one of the hottest
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 2005

BUSINESS: The Ultimate Resource

March 2005 Upgrade 30

fashion properties of the 20th century, Lauren lives a stylish life. He has properties in Jamaica, Long Island, and Fifth Avenue, as well as an estate in Bedford, New York, and a ranch in Colorado. An avid driver, Lauren has amassed a collection of prestigious cars that includes a 1937 Alfa Romeo and a 1938 Bugatti.

Context and Conclusions

Ralph Lauren led where many have since followed. His concept of the mens designer store was adopted by many other famous names, including Giorgio Armani and Calvin Klein. Lauren built Polo into a global brand with its quintessential, clean-cut, preppy look. His success was in selling not only clothes, but a way of lifea glimpse of which was revealed through stylized advertising. As Lauren says: I dont design clothes, I design dreams. Today the companys brand names include Polo, Polo by Ralph Lauren, Polo Sport, Ralph Lauren, Lauren, RALPH, Ralph Lauren Purple Label Polo Jeans Co., and many others. There are now over 130 Polo/Ralph Lauren stores around the world selling a variety of products from fragrances to footwear, fabric to furniture, as well as the classic menswear Lauren made his name designing. For $150,000 you can even buy a Ralph Lauren trailera gleaming silver Airstream with a choice of four differently themed interiors.

For More Information

Book: Trachtenberg, Jeffrey A. Ralph Lauren: The Man behind the Mystique. New York: Little, Brown, 1981. Web site: Polo.com Ralph Lauren: www.polo.com

Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 2005