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.