e.  Offering both men’s and womenswear, the new stores are launching with the brand’s pre-spring 2021 collections, plus a range of capsule collections and exclusives, such as the ASOS x Polo Ralph Lauren Collection available only at Pacific Fair. They are the first of several store openings for the brand in 2021 and beyond. Updating a classic Founded more than 50 years ago by the New York designer of the same name, Ralph Lauren is known for its classic American style, epitomised by the colourful polo shirts it sells under its Polo Ralph Lauren label.  Eschewing trends, the company has grown by expanding into complementary categories, such as homewares and kids’ clothing, and diversifying its business model across wholesale, direct-to-consumer and licensing. It was ahead of the curve with the opening of an immersive flagship store on Madison Avenue in New York in 1983.  But in recent years, Ralph Lauren has struggled. Revenue dropped from a high of US$7.62 billion in FY15 to US$6.16 billion in FY18, before climbing slightly to US$6.31 billion in FY19. Then it fell victim to the Covid-19 pandemic, posting just US$4.4 billion in revenue in FY21, its lowest figure since FY07.  “Covid has definitely had an impact on Ralph Lauren, as it has on many other prestigious retailers,” Brian Walker, founder and CEO of The Retail Doctor, told Inside Retail. “They’re at the mercy of their wholesale and licencing customers.” However, to return to growth post-pandemic, he believes the company needs to address a persistent weak point in its product offering.  “I think at a fundamental product level, they haven’t been innovating and driving new product development into the market for about five years,” he said. “A lot of their product is fairly staid. You know what you’re going to get: it’s the chinos, the polos, the jackets.” Because of this, Walker believes the company has failed to adapt its offering to the next generation of consumers.  “Their core positioning is The Hamptons and baby boomers. That market is ageing, and the new market with buying power is the millennials,” he said. “I’m not sure [the current offering] speaks to millennials quite the way that it spoke to boomers and gen X.” Leading with digital Enter Ralph Lauren’s Next Great Strategy, a five-year plan to drive long-term growth by placing the consumer at the centre, elevating and energising the brand and balancing growth and productivity.  Recent activities include the launch of The Lauren Look, a new subscription service that marks Ralph Lauren’s first foray into clothing rentals, as well as a made-to-order service that allows customers to design their own polo shirts, from the colour to the sleeve and collar design, to the monogram.  In terms of marketing, the company has increased its spending and shifted its focus towards more innovative digital campaigns, such as the Ralph Lauren x Bitmoji Collection, which had more than one billion try-ons on Snapchat and a virtual concert experience featuring Chance the Rapper. And last week, Ralph Lauren committed to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions across the company by 2040.  “Overall, Ralph Lauren has potential,” Neil Saunders, GlobalData’s managing director, said after the company posted its full-year earnings last month.  “But as it comes into the second half of the fiscal year, growth will become more dependent on getting the strategy and the brand image right.”