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.