Business Marketing

Ralph Lauren Corporation's design excellence works in concert with its disciplined business approach. They have a flexible integrated business model, which encompasses retail, wholesale and licensing. While staying true to their luxury lifestyle sensibilities and executing their global vision, they seek to expand the Ralph Lauren brand into new markets, countries and shopping environments. The key elements of their strategy is to always continue to build and extend the brand.

Ralph Lauren is one of the world's premier brands, universally recognized and associated with distinct design, luxury and quality. Their integrated approach to advertising and marketing uniquely showcases the world of Ralph Lauren. Retail stores continue to be an important physical extension of its global brand. And the success with their own specialty retail business has given them the confidence to apply their expertise to wholesale business, including merchandise mix, visual presentation and excellent customer service. There is more to come as they expand and extend the Ralph Lauren lifestyle through new products, in new categories and in new parts of the world.

Segmenting and Targeting Markets
Ralph Lauren started forty years ago as an company that started selling ties, but has grown into something of an American lifestyle across the board. They have always stood for quality products, creating worlds and inviting people into their vision and their dream. Ralph Lauren is one of the true innovators of lifestyle advertisements which told their story and let's customers participate in the lifestyle.

Ralph Lauren targets all over the world, but most of they're base is men. They men from the age range of 16-40 mostly because those are the ones who buy most of they're clothes. They have many locations in the United States and in Europe. How they target most of the people are through magazine ads and news print. By doing this it gives them a wide base to sell their product to and has kept them in the main stream of fashion for years to come.

Developing and Managing Products

Ralph Lauren has been managing and developing products for over 40 years now, and he continues to create new lines every few years. His latest lines have been Rugby & Denim and Supply. Clothing lines like RLX was lauched in 2008, Ralph Lauren has always provided the necessary products that consumers want and need. He has broaded his horizions tapping more into the younger crowd or better known as Generation X with Rugby. With Rugby it was still classic & preppy but also a little more urban for today's youth. Ralph Lauren has been a trendsetter for most clothing lines because of his longevity in the business, and he will continue to be for years to come.

Integrated Marketing Communications

Integrated Marketing Communications

Ralph Lauren is known for inviting customers into a dream world of luxury. That flawless man in the ad wearing the Ralph Lauren shirt has a story and a lifestyle that consumers want to see themselves in.They have always strived to keep themselves as a classic brand which people always can always see themeselves in. An iconic brand that represents timeless style, Ralph Lauren has also revolutionized retail using technology, creativity and their own passion for innovation.They’ve been at the front of the pack since digital became an option, seeing an opportunity to tell a story online when many retailers saw the internet as a place that would hurt store sales. And the retailer has been pushing the envelope ever since, investing heavily in video, editorial content, a Minority Report-inspired interactive store window, mobile apps and perhaps most fantastic of all, a 4D spectacle on the streets of London and New York.

 The brand story is a storybook tale told by great storytellers. Ralph Lauren feels the driving concept as “merchantainment,” the seamless blending of merchandising and entertainment. Ralph Lauren himself envisions a lifestyle around the merchandise. In the store, the character’s sweater might be on the rack, but he also left his kayak in the corner, and you might even run into his dog as you browse. With Ralph Lauren they don't feel like they're just selling clothes but they are selling a dream, the thoughts behind the companies thinking is “We sell a lifestyle that’s exciting. When you’re shopping, you’re dreaming. You want access in that world.” The keys to success to Ralph Lauren is, don’t wait for everybody else to do it, just take the risk and and go for it. There’s a balancing act of knowing your customer and reacting to them, but also showing them something they haven’t seen before. And most importantly, in merchantainment, you must excite your customer. They also feel if the company is excited about it product that makes the consumer feel comfortable themselves.

Product Concepts

Product Concepts

Forty years ago a man born Ralph Lifschitz, better known as Ralph Lauren produced a product that is known worldwide to all people called Ralph Lauren. He took a collection of ties and built it into something that no one could of expected. Ralph Lauren has always provided his customers with quality products, from clothes, accessories, fragrances to home products. Year after year they have always given most of they're loyal customers things they want with the quality of their product. Lauren's marketing has always caught people's eye for years, because its product is always eye catching. 

With their vivid colors and style, even the products from years before are still a want by many consumers. Ralph Lauren always releases a teddy bear collection, that was a high seller in the 90's because of Ralph Lauren faithful. His Ralph Lauren Polo line is focuses more on people of all ages because it is the first line he created. So it's based more an American style even though there are some European cuts. While his other lines are mostly based for men & women, so most of Lauren's marketing is fixed on a mixed crowd old enough to wear the RL products. No one would ever question the quality of their product because it has always had the reputation for top quality. Most people who own Ralph Lauren products, can attest that the products they do own have survived for years because of the quailty of the material. They're products will always dominate for years and years to come because they are more of an everyday lifestyle compared to other clothing lines and their products. Others will always come and go but Ralph Lauren will always last because its product is a necessity and not a want.

Sales Promotion and Personal Selling

Sales Promotion and Personal Selling

Ralph Lauren offers many different sales promotions, if you purchase items online if you spend over $195 you get free shipping. Which in tell makes you spend even more money without even leaving the house. Think about it they are saving you the trip of either driving or riding the train to one of its many locations.With e-commerce sales at Ralph Lauren growing annually by 30%, the apparel manufacturer and retailer has a big appetite to take on more international expansion.

For the fiscal year ending March 31, Ralph Lauren reported: Web sales grew 30% to around $479.9 million from 369 million. Total sales increased 17% to 3.24 billion from 2.77 billion for the fiscal year of 2011. Comparable-store sales increased 14%, net income increased year over year 20% to 681 million from 567.6 million. The web accounted for 14.8% of total sales compared to the 13.3% for the fiscal year of 2011.

Ralph Lauren uses the web, text, catalogs & flyers to let all of its customers know of all new items that come out for whatever season. They also let you know about items that have gone on sale from the previous seasons clothing line or other merchandise. Ralph Lauren knows that they're customers value good deals & try to make sure that everyone is aware whether it a holiday sale of just for being a long time customer.

Advertiising and Public Relations

Ralph Lauren is the world's most successful fashion designer, selling clothing and luxury goods worth around $12 billion a year at retail.The secret to its 40 year success has been careful control of the Ralph Lauren and Polo trademarks, but above all an unrivalled understanding of the multiple strands that make up classic American style.In fact,  Ralph Lauren's biggest challenge by far is to broaden its audience, especially in Europe and Asia, where there is still a preference for homegrown designers. 

Ralph Lauren has used The New York Times for a lot of they're advertising and have had a long standing partnership with them just for those needs . A regular in the print paper, on the website, and increasingly in mobile as well, it’s proven willing to follow its media partner into uncharted waters and to spend big on premium digital ad space. Ralph Lauren’s advertising images have changed from a country club lifestyle image to urban/hip the company has adjusted to the changing of times. They're clothing line is used different sports which they are the official line used for the US Open & even the Summer and Winter Olympics.

Between TV, radio, internet & prints Ralph Lauren definitely spends a lot of money in advertising to try to reach out to many of they're customers. They even used a music group called "Silhouettes" to expand they're advertising to a larger market of people to promote they're new line on YouTube. It just shows that Ralph Lauren goes to any length to sell they merchandise and continue to be a trendsetter in fashion.

Retailing

Retailing 


Ralph Lauren Polo is one of the most widely recognized brands in the world.  The demand for its casual but high quality apparel has increased strongly since its inception forty years ago. When referencing Ralph Lauren or Polo I should mention that we are speaking about a broad range of RLP merchandise to include Ralph Lauren, Polo, Lauren Ralph Lauren, Lauren, Purple & Black Label, Rugby, RLX and RRL, not to mention merchandise manufactured exclusively for certain major retailers including Dillard's and Macy's. Therefore, we are speaking about thousands of authentic Ralph Lauren items. To discuss the differences between one or more items you might purchase online would be exhaustive. So, I will offer more broad advice to cover the extensive range of possibilities.

Ralph Lauren has masterfully merchandised fine clothing, accessories and home goods since 1967. You can find Ralph Lauren merchandise through a wide range of distribution channels including company owned retail locations, leading department stores, polo.com and online resellers. That aside, with frequent new merchandise introductions, about every 2-3 months, it is nearly impossible for the average consumer to keep up with the constant flow of new Ralph Lauren Polo merchandise offered. 

Ralph Lauren's Strategic Planning & Ethic & Social Responsibility

The Polo Ralph Lauren Foundation supports initiatives in cancer care, education and service in

 underserved communites. Such as The Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care and Prevention, 

American Heroes Fund, Habitat for Humanity, Polo Fashion School, Ralph Lauren Volunteers, The Reusable Tote and the Pink Pony Campaign.

The Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care and Prevention

In 2003, Ralph Lauren partnered with the nation’s leading cancer center, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, to create the Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care and Prevention.

The Center, the only outpatient facility of its kind in Harlem, is an independent 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Specialists at the Center make treatment possible for a wide range of cancers, and all patients have access to pain management and palliative care services, as well as treatment of rare cancers through referrals to inpatient services at Memorial Sloan-Kettering and other hospitals. The Center provides prevention education and health information to the Harlem community and beyond, and conducts research to help advance the understanding of the multiple factors that influence cancer care and health outcomes in medically underserved populations similar to those the Center serves.

One of the cornerstones of the Ralph Lauren Center is its Patient Navigation Program pioneered by Dr. Harold Freeman, Founder and Chairman Emeritus of the Ralph Lauren Center. As part of this innovative program, each patient is assigned a navigator as his or her personal advocate and problem solver, who provides guidance through the complexities of the health care system.

The Center is an extension of Ralph Lauren’s ongoing commitment to cancer research and care. More than 20 years ago, after his close friend and Washington Post fashion editor Nina Hyde was diagnosed with breast cancer, Ralph Lauren made a commitment to focus his philanthropic efforts on eradicating the devastating disease. In 1990, he helped establish a center for breast cancer research at Georgetown University Medical Center in Nina’s name; and in 1994 led the fashion industry in its support of breast cancer research with the CFDA initiative Fashion Targets Breast Cancer.

The American Heroes Fund

College Scholarships

In response to the events of September 11, 2001, the American Heroes Fund was created as part of the Polo Ralph Lauren Foundation, which raised $4 million for relief efforts and established a college scholarship fund for the children of the victims of the attacks.

In addition to the scholarship fund, the Polo Ralph Lauren Foundation bestowed major gifts to the Twin Towers Fund, the American Red Cross and the New York Police & Fire Widows’ & Children’s Benefit Fund.

The Reusable Organic Tote

This tote is made 

from 100% organic

 cotton. 100% of the

 net proceeds* from 

the sale of this tote

 will be donated to 

the Polo Ralph 

Lauren Foundation 

in support of 

philanthropic 

initiatives, including the Pink Pony Fund to help in the fight against cancer.

Pink Pony is Ralph Lauren’s worldwide initiative in the fight against cancer. Its 

mission is to reduce disparities in cancer care in medically underserved 

communities and ensure that treatment is available at an earlier stage by 

supporting programs for cancer screening, early diagnosis, treatment, research 

and patient navigation.

Ralph Lauren's Global Vision

Ralph Lauren's Global Vision

Ralph Lauren Corporation is galloping at a faster clip than when its namesake founder first entered the arena some 45 years ago. With golden mallet brands such as Polo by Ralph Lauren, Chaps, RRL, Rugby, Club Monaco, and RLX Ralph Lauren, the company designs and markets apparel and accessories, home furnishings, and fragrances. Its collections are available at some 11,000 locations worldwide, including many upscale and mid-tier department stores. (Macy's accounts for 20% of all wholesale revenue.) The company operates about 380 Ralph Lauren, Club Monaco, and Rugby retail stores worldwide as well as half a dozen e-commerce sites. American style icon and CEO Lauren controls the company.

Ralph Lauren is one of the most iconic, successful fashion brands on the planet. With a market cap of $13 billion, it extends from the fashion runways to mass market, from Bergdorf Goodman to JCPenney, from customers seeking a $17,000 Ricky handbag to those interested in an $85 polo. The company encompasses more than 20 interrelated brands--including newcomers Denim & Supply and Collection Denim (launching this month)--and is engaged in an aggressive global expansion, having repurchased most of its licensed businesses over the past 10 years. Going directly for the heart of the fashion world, Ralph Lauren recently opened a new flagship on the Boulevard Saint-Germain in Paris, and this fall, it will launch e-commerce in France. Revenue is climbing steadily, and the company's share price has more than doubled in the past two years.

The Ralph Lauren brand has thrived for decades by bringing to life a classic, even nostalgic aesthetic--an appealing, attractive, exclusive world that consumers have shown terrific hunger for. The risk embedded with this approach is that those consumers, at some point, may view this nostalgia as predictable, even old. This brand is steeped in tradition and heritage, but you have to find new horizons.

Ralph Lauren's Marketing Strategy

                                               Ralph Lauren's Marketing Strategy

 Polo Ralph Lauren has long been out in front of its luxury and fashion peers when it comes to technology. The brand was among the first to embrace e-commerce, and, in more recent history, it has been aggressive in its use of mobile marketing.

Last year alone, the company went live with a mobile commerce platform, began using QR Codes and launched its first iPhone app (this month it launched its second app around its Rugby brand). The "Make Your Own Rugby" iPhone app allows users to personalize rugby and polo shirts, as well as upload their photos to virtually try on the shirt.

Leading the charge is David Lauren, senior VP-advertising, marketing and corporate communications. He also happens to be the son of chairman-CEO Ralph Lauren. The 37-year-old took on the marketing role at Polo Ralph Lauren in 2001 and has held his current title for just over a year.

Mr. Lauren admits it's a challenge to stay on the cutting edge while maintaining the brand's timeless, lux image. Likewise, many competitors have been tentative when it comes to taking advantage of technology and social media. But embracing technology gives Polo Ralph Lauren a competitive advantage, Mr. Lauren said. Quick response (QR) codes, which are bar codes that can be scanned with cellphones to get content associated with the product, for example, might not yet be widely used in the U.S., but in Japan they're just another way to shop. When the U.S. catches up, Polo Ralph Lauren, which spent $171 million on advertising in fiscal year 2009 -- down 9% from fiscal year 2008, according to the company -- will be ready, Mr. Lauren said.

"We want to be exploring [technology] right now, so that our learning puts us ahead of the curve," he said. "Each learning is a brick in the wall, and we want to be at the top of the wall when the floods come."

 

The retailer has both mobile apps for its brands as well as a mobile Web site. By using mobile, the company has been able to target consumers of particular brands and tie their mobile experience to an in-store engagement. To help users interact with Ralph Lauren’s RLX brand, the retailer tapped mobile with an engaging iPad app that users could play with to see the clothes in the collection. 

 Additionally, for the Rugby brand, which is aimed at younger consumers aged 18 – 27, Ralph Lauren used an app to let shoppers create and buy a personalized shirt. Users could then send their customized piece to be projected in the store window of Rugby’s New York location where consumers could shop the window. In addition to the Rugby initiative, Ralph Lauren has used technology to create shoppable windows at the brand’s other stores and tapped into 4D technology for a special event that brought Ralph Lauren flagship stores in New York and London to life in Nov. 2010.

Ralph Lauren outlined the company’s tech innovations and explained how each digital initiative fit in with the retailer’s more traditional marketing channels. Their motto is, “We do not just sell clothes, we sell a lifestyle that is exciting." They want people feel by buying a shirt, it gives you a spirit that Ralph Lauren writes through his clothes with stories that are meant to inspire you.

The Ralph Lauren Web site was created 11 years ago and was one of the first luxury retailers to transition its brand to an online commerce experience. “When we opened online, many thought it would be the end of our retail business and would cannibalize our sales,” Mr. Lauren said. “We had to fight to say it would be good platform to build the Ralph Lauren story on,” he said.

Ralph Lauren’s digital marketing efforts revolve around “merchantainment” or combining merchandising and entertainment for consumers. According to Mr. Lauren, Ralph Lauren was the first major luxury retailer to create a digital style guide with tips, photographs and user questions on Ralph Lauren’s products and how to style them.

For the tenth anniversary of Ralphlauren.com, the retailer used fourth-dimensional technology to create a show for shoppers that emphasized the classic but tech-savvy direction of the brand. Ralph Lauren has used various digital channels to editorialize content, including a branded quarterly magazine that gives users trend reports and articles meant to highlight the retailer’s current product line.

Ralph Lauren also created a Web initiative for its Lauren brand that used top editors at fashion magazines to walk users through the brand’s current collection and let users shop looks directly.

In addition to different campaigns, Ralph Lauren has used partnerships and advertising to bolster its digital repertoire.

For instance, in September Ralph Lauren used the month of September to control sole advertisement  on the New York Times iPad app. Again, it is about bringing merchandising and entertainment together to take you right into the Ralph Lauren world. The New York Times ads featured a live fashion show and also let users buy items directly without clicking through to the retailer’s mobile Web site.

Last year, Ralph Lauren launched its online-only brand Denim & Supply, and the company is only advertising with online spots, which is unique for a luxury brand. It has also used digital initiatives to bolster its Pink Pony Charity and has raised more than 486 million impressions via print, online and broadcast advertising.

Despite its digital push, Ralph Lauren stressed the importance the online and mobile initiatives must play in an overall marketing initiative for luxury brands. The Internet does not work without anything else and you need multiple ways to do it and enhance everything else. It is about showing the customer something they do not already know. It has to get the consumer really excited, and has to try to understand the customer and the message of the brand.

History and Mission Statement

The Mission

The mission of Ralph Lauren is to provide quality products, bringing different worlds together and inviting people into they're dream and vision. They are the true innovators of lifestyle advertisements that tell a story and the first to create stores that encourage customer participation in that lifestyle.

The History

Ralph Lauren was born Ralph Lipschitz in New York City on October 14, in 1939. He grew up in the Bronx. In 1967, he changed his name and went into business selling ties under the brand name Polo. Ralph Lauren Corporation 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.

What is Marketing 

Marketing is creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offering that have value for customers. 

According to Chapter 1 of MKTG 5, 2012 Student Edition, 5th Edition, explains that the fundamentals objectives of most businesses are survival, profits, and growth. 

As consumers living in a world that is driven by advertising, expectations are high when it comes to being a valued customer. Our MKTG book explains the differences between Sales and Market Orientations and why they are substantial. 

Sales Orientated businesses is all about the end product which is "profit". This type of marketing strategy shows the lack of needs and wants of the marketplace. If a businesses cannot convince the people why they should buy a product or service that is neither needed to them, then a customer should not feel forced to buy a product that doesn't fit his needs. As a consumer, we want to feel that we are  in an enviroment that cares about us enough to build a long last relationship, not to sell a product for the sake of the day's sales goals.

Market Oriented business doesn't focus on the sales but focuses on a customer's decision to purchase a product. To obtain this information about the product, analysis focus keenly on customers, competitors, and markets. This type of marketing is geared  towards a customer needs and wants, and also focus on the company's objectives to keep a long lasting client. Businesses of this nature that are customer oriented sacrifice for the benefits of their customers while giving their employees empowerment to meet the needs of the company and the customer.

More organization should apply the Market Orientation philosophy and give the customers what they need. Consumers are students of a new product, they don't have an understanding what the value is of that product unless explained and if it suits their needs.