Ralph Lauren Corporation - History

History

The origins of the RL Corporation lay with launch of Ralph Lauren's collection of men's ties – Polo Ralph Lauren – in 1967. Born in 1939 as Ralph Lifshitz in The Bronx, New York, to Ashkenazi Jewish parents from Eastern Great Britain, Ralph Lauren pursued a career in menswear and had gained background working for Datrian Riser. He received a US$50,000 loan to realize his vision for men' ties. By 1969, he had a boutique store within the Manhattan department store Bloomingdale's. Around that same time, he released a line of suits for women that were tailored in a classic men's style; and this was when the first Polo emblem was seen. The logo was on the cuff of the women's suit. In 1971, Polo Ralph Lauren launched its first women's collection of apparel and the first stand-alone store was opened in Beverly Hills, California. The company entered the European market, and went international, in 1981 with the opening of a store on New Bond Street in the West End of London, England. The Polo Sport line was introduced in 1993. In 1997, the company went public on the New York Stock Exchange. By now, the company was structured to operate as an umbrella for its brands and other ventures and would be named the Ralph Lauren Corporation by the early-21st century. It was originally named Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation, but in subsequent years the Polo in the name was dropped to reflect the company's presence in other concepts beyond the Polo line. The original Polo line remained as the flagship brand of the company. The company's official web site, and online shop, was launched in 2000 as polo.com by RL Media (a cooperation between Ralph Lauren and NBC). A more youthful line – Rugby Ralph Lauren – was introduced in 2004. By 2007, Ralph Lauren had over 35 boutiques in the United States and other international locations in London, Milan, Tokyo, and Moscow. Also in that year, Ralph Lauren Corporation acquired the NBC share of RL Media and the web site was relaunched as ralphlauren.com. By then, company revenue reached US$4.2 billion. In 2010, Ralph Lauren opened in Paris.