What is ralph lauren most famous for

In continuation of its strategy of expanding into categories that have synergies with high-end fashion, Ralph Lauren may keep on exploring opportunities. With the master brand already quite stretched, it would need to take these decisions more carefully.

Whatever category the expansion is into, and regardless of whether it is via an acquisition or through the launch of a new sub-brand, Ralph Lauren would need to ensure that the spirit of the brand lives through in a holistic manner. Additionally, the integration of new sub-brands or acquired brands into the architecture of the portfolio will always remain challenging.

Store profitability and inventory management: Another challenge that Ralph Lauren faces is store profitability and inventory management. This has had an effect on its bottom-line. As such, new management has expressed that it has plans to close about 50 high end stores to improve store profitability and reduce inventory as most of the inventory was subject to heavy discounting. Given that customer insights are the holy grail of modern business, the more companies know about their customers, the better they can innovate and compete.

One very good example of a company that has successfully leveraged its customer research capabilities to improve inventory management is Zara. This has allowed them to accurately supply fashion that resonates with customers in almost perfect quantities, resulting in the discounting of a very small proportion of its products, approximately half compared to its competitors — a very impressive feat.

Similarly, Ralph Lauren needs to also do the same and consider how it is using its customer intelligence capabilities to anticipate demand more accurately and respond with optimum levels of supply. As the main competitive advantage for the company is the founder himself, life after the founder is a hard topic for both the founder and company to discuss.

Ralph Lauren himself has a net worth of USD 5. With regard to corporate governance, as the brand continues into a new chapter, the search for a new CEO has ended. However, due to differences in opinion over direction, Stefan Larsson departed from the company in May In a bid to make Ralph Lauren a leaner company, the company has recently eliminated layers of management through restructuring.

For instance, the office of the chairman has been eliminated and the duties have been absorbed. It is expected that this will help improve efficiency within the organization, hence leading to greater profitability.

Another growing challenge that Ralph Lauren may face is to be able to appeal to a new generation of consumers. To sustain the brand appeal to consumers who are now more digital savvy and have higher expectations in the 21st century, there are a few important issues that Ralph Lauren needs to tackle in the next years.

The need for product line optimization has already been recognised. As part of the most recent restructuring exercise, a decision has been taken to reduce the number of lines the brand produces. Ralph Lauren has plans to venture into the accessories space, which includes handbags and small leather goods to leverage its brand equity and also hedge the brand against the strong headwinds running through the global fashion industry. A great example of a luxury fashion brand that has leveraged its strong brand equity and ventured into multiple product categories is Giorgio Armani.

By leveraging its expert knowledge of the fashion and luxury industry, Armani has been able to come up with winning concepts in other product lines that include cosmetics, watches, jewellery and eye wear. Instead of blindly experimenting with product categories, Ralph Lauren should conduct an expertise and capability check, which will help it identify the categories where it can extend the brand and showcase expertise and deliver using existing operational capabilities.

Innovation: As Peter Drucker said, innovation and marketing are the only two functions of any organization. Irrespective of how committed employees are or how competent top management is, unless the company connects with the customer, success will always be elusive. Top management needs to constantly evaluate their strategic decisions in the context of customer feedback and how the customers can help the company in co-creating value.

Innovation is therefore a key factor that will strongly influence the future of the Ralph Lauren brand. David Lauren seems to be doing the right things, with the brand witnessing some groundbreaking innovations under his leadership, in the areas of product development, customer experience and stakeholder engagement. On the product front, Ralph Lauren has introduced the Ricky Bag with Light, which features a discreet rechargeable battery that powers an internal LED light in the bag to help locate personal items.

A USB port in the bag also helps to charge mobile devices. In terms of customer experience, Ralph Lauren has launched interactive fitting rooms with full-sized touchscreen mirrors at the Polo Flagship store in New York, creating a seamless digital in-store experience and enhancing the overall customer experience. Customers can now adjust the lighting and language, and select clothes, colour options and sizes just by tapping on the mirror.

They can also view suggested pieces, ask for a sales associate, or pay on the spot. Moving forward, Ralph Lauren needs to also recognize that each innovation has as relatively short lifespan.

Mobile commerce: Being the first luxury brand to set foot into e-commerce, it seems strange that the brand has not offered a mobile shopping platform yet. Currently, it operates two e-commerce sites in the US and eight sites internationally. Different forms of market analysis strongly point towards a scenario wherein spends on mobile commerce will overtake desktop based ecommerce in the next 3 years. With the deluge of investments that fashion companies have planned in the mobile commerce space, Ralph Lauren needs to quickly make mobile shopping not only an effortless experience but also a delightful one.

A sustainable approach to business: In recent years, sustainability in business has become a hot topic. Although social and environmental efforts may not be a key factor for consumers to choose a particular brand, not having societal considerations while doing business could be a reason for consumers to avoid the brand. Ralph Lauren understands this, evident from its numerous corporate social responsibility efforts.

The Pink Pony sub-brand was a global campaign to show support for breast cancer victims. In order to be at the leading edge of its industry, it is essential that Ralph Lauren continues its corporate social responsibility work.

Reacting to consumer sentiment and trends: With the internet and social media, consumers have never had greater power in influencing brands than before. Today, consumer sentiment plays a greater role in advertising and brand communication than ever before. Consumers are able to and are forthcoming in expressing their views on issues in the fashion industry, including body image and feminism.

It is common for brands in the fashion industry to use slim models and retouch fashion images which often leads to unrealistic depictions of the female body. This has sparked a global outcry, with consumers questioning the impact these images have on impressionable youth, causing them to experience issues with body image and self-esteem.

Brands who engage in such unethical practices are punished with consumer boycott and law enforcers. Being in this industry, Ralph Lauren needs to be careful with its brand communication and advertising practices, and be aware of what their customers like or do not like. The Ralph Lauren brand was set up from the start to be all about the American lifestyle. From the designs of its apparels and accessories, to the dining experience offered in its restaurants, the Ralph Lauren brand stands as a symbol of America — an amazing feat for a brand that has only been around for 50 years.

Building and sustaining a personality that is relevant and one that resonates with the customer base is one of the most difficult aspects of building a strong brand. Ralph Lauren, with its presence in diverse markets, a very wide brand portfolio, and interactions with diverse set of customers, manages to hold up well to this challenge of building a relevant and resonant brand personality.

The future looks steady but not smooth sailing. Although the brand equity is strong, customer attitudes towards fashion and especially apparel have changed significantly. Post— Annie Hall, Ralph Lauren would become known for its suiting options for women, and female celebrities in particular. Diane Keaton would continue to wear suits from the brand on the red carpet including to the Oscars, pictured , her love of the Ralph Lauren ensemble even referenced on Friends.

As one of the premier heritage brands in the U. Michelle Obama, who took great pride in supporting the American fashion industry , wore an off-the-shoulder Ralph Lauren gown during a state visit to the U.

Ever since becoming the duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton has worn pieces from various Ralph Lauren labels—from Blue to Black—to a range of appearances, all of which have been documented on royal fashion sites like What Kate Wore.

One example: the long-sleeve houndstooth Ralph Lauren Black Label number she donned for her first solo engagement following the birth of Princess Charlotte in Hillary Clinton wore Ralph Lauren pantsuits—her sartorial signature—throughout her political career, especially during her presidential campaign.

Her most important and symbolic ensemble, though, was the one she wore to deliver her concession speech for the election: The purple lapel and shirt were widely interpreted as a metaphor for cooperation between political parties, given that the color is a result of mixing blue Democrats with red Republicans.

Clinton's concession speech pantsuit wouldn't be the last time Ralph Lauren participated in the narrative of the election: For President Donald Trump's inauguration in January , First Lady Melania Trump wore a powder-blue dress with matching gloves from the brand, which reminded many of Jackie Kennedy's outfit for the occasion.

However, it proved to be a divisive dressing, as people began calling for a Ralph Lauren boycott as a result, given the then incoming administration's politics. Though his ready-to-wear is rooted in the everyday, Ralph Lauren's evening wear is designed to stand out from the pack, with impossibly elegant details and cuts that have graced red carpets for decades. He's outfitted a bevy of celebrities, from Tracee Ellis Ross to Mandy Moore, for major Hollywood events, and ranked among "best dressed" lists pretty consistently throughout his career.

Of all of Gwyneth Paltrow's red-carpet looks from over the years, the pale-pink Ralph Lauren gown she wore to accept a Best Actress Oscar at the Academy Awards stands out. It even has its own Wikipedia page. At the time, the taffeta dress received mixed reviews from critics. But in hindsight, the super-simple design has been deemed a timeless classic, consistently cropping up in "Best Looks of All Times" roundups.

Paltrow told InStyle of the ensemble: "I just wanted to look very sweet. In the eighties and nineties, as hip-hop grew as a genre, Polo Ralph Lauren was adopted as part of its fashion culture , which would lead to some well-known Polo-branded moments—the most well-known of which is probably Raekwon's Snow Beach windbreaker in the music video for Wu-Tang Clan's "Can It Be All So Simple," from I felt like it was one of a kind because it seemed like this was the only jacket in my size waiting for me….

I was always a fan of Polo, but when I seen that, I felt like I was the only one who had it. Ralph Lauren reissued pieces from the collection, including Raekwon's jacket, in early , timed to its twenty-fifth anniversary. Though, apparently, Raekwon didn't get a call.

And over the years, the Polo bear has evolved, changed outfits , and been embraced by the brand's stans, including the Lo-Life crew. Rack-Lo, who founded the Lo-Lifes in the late eighties, told Fashionista of the style: "We wore the bears and exposed them, and they became an item that people valued and still cherish. David Lauren is the only one of the three to have made his career at Polo.

Bush and the granddaughter of President George H. Lauren had a health scare when he underwent surgery in the mids to remove a benign tumor from his brain.

He has since funded a number of initiatives pertaining to cancer research and care and in co-founded Georgetown University's Nina Hyde Center for Breast Cancer Research. In , a selection from his car collection was exhibited in Paris. We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us! Subscribe to the Biography newsletter to receive stories about the people who shaped our world and the stories that shaped their lives.

Ralph Ellison was a 20th century African American writer and scholar best known for his renowned, award-winning novel 'Invisible Man. Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American Transcendentalist poet, philosopher and essayist during the 19th century. One of his best-known essays is "Self-Reliance. Attorney, activist and politician Ralph Nader is an auto-safety reformer and consumer advocate. He has run for president several times as a candidate for the Green Party. Ralph D. Ralph Lauren is an American clothing designer best known for his sportswear line Polo Ralph Lauren, the centerpiece of his fashion empire.