Ralph Lauren founded the Ralph Lauren Corporation in 1967. At first, the company only sold men’s ties. Two years later, Ralph Lauren had a boutique store for ties inside Bloomingdale’s department store in Manhattan.
Around the same time, he released a line of women’s suits that were tailored in men’s style with the Polo emblem on the cuff. This was the first time the Polo emblem was seen.
In 1971 the first Ralph Lauren stand-alone store opened in Beverly Hills, California.
In 1981 the company opened its first international location in London.
The Polo Sport Line was introduced in 1993.
The company went public in 1997, trading on the New York Stock Exchange with the ticker RL. By that time Ralph Lauren was an umbrella corporation for the company’s various brands and other ventures.
Today Ralph Lauren includes the brands Polo by Ralph Lauren, Chaps, Rugby, RRL, Club Monaco, and RLX Ralph Lauren. The company designs and markets apparel and home furnishings, and fragrances. The company has 380 stores and its products are available at 11,000 locations worldwide.
Ralph Lauren Corporation is #370 in the Fortune 500, a member of the S&P 500, has 19,000 employees, and had $5 billion in revenue in 2010.
