Polo Ralph Lauren

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Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation
Image:Polorralphlauren_logo.gif
Type of Company Public (NYSE: RL)
Founded 1968
Headquarters New York, New York, USA
Key people Ralph Lauren, Chairman & CEO
Industry Textiles - Apparel Clothing
Products Apparel, Bedding, Bath products, Furniture, Fabric, Wallpaper, Paints, Broadloom, Tabletop and Giftware, Fragrance and Skin Care products
Revenue $3.746 billion USD (2006)
Net income $308.00 million USD (2006)
Employees 12,800 (2006)
Website www.polo.com

Polo Ralph Lauren (NYSE: RL) is American fashion designer Ralph Lauren's leading line of clothing. Polo Ralph Lauren specialises in high-end casual/semi-formal wear for men and women.

Contents

[edit] Brand history

The brand was launched in 1967 when Ralph Lauren purchased the name from Brooks Brothers, for whom he worked at the time. In 1968 he started a line of men's ties. By 1969 he had a boutique store within the Manhattan department store Bloomingdale's. In 1971, Polo Ralph Lauren launched its first women's collection and his first standalone store in Beverly Hills, California. Ten years later, in 1981, the brand went global with its first international store on London's New Bond Street. The Polo Sport line came about in 1993. [1]

The brand now produces clothing, accessories, fragrances, and operates the restaurant RL in Chicago, and sponsors a Harlem cancer center in association with Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. The flagship store is now located in the Rhinelander Mansion 867 Madison Avenue at 72nd Street, also in New York City.

Ralph Lauren is the largest fashion designer/retailer in the United States, with sales almost reaching four billion dollars per year.

[edit] Polo classics

One of the most famous pieces in the Polo line is the classic polo featuring the now-iconic Polo player on the left breast of the shirt. This shirt in particular became a fashion must in the 1980s with the preppy set. Other Polo classics include the cashmere cableknit sweater and the oxford cloth button-down shirt.

[edit] Clothing brands

Since the inception of Polo in 1967, Ralph Lauren has created many other brands. They include:

Clothing for men:

  • Purple Label
  • Black Label
  • Polo Ralph Lauren
  • RLX
  • Polo Jeans Co.
  • RRL (Double RL)
  • Rugby

Clothing for women:

  • Collection
  • Black Label
  • Blue Label
  • Lauren Ralph Lauren
  • Polo Jeans Co.
  • RLX
  • Pink Pony
  • Rugby

Polo Ralph Lauren also owns the hip boutique retailer Club Monaco, which operates independently within the RL corporate structure.

[edit] External links

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