Growing with style: How Patrice Louvet revived Ralph Lauren
Patrice Louvet, president and CEO of Ralph Lauren, knows a thing or two about growing with style. He's taken the fashion house's global and digital reach to new heights, all while preserving the brand's iconic look. In this episode of This is Working, Louvet talks to LinkedIn Editor-in-Chief Dan Roth about marketing finesse, the subtle alchemy of brand evolution, and the art of keeping a legacy brand both relevant and authentic — and his management style.
When Louvet took over Ralph Lauren had a storied past, massive brand recognition and a particularly valuable, one-of-a-kind asset — founder Ralph Lauren himself. But the company had seen better days. Over the years, Patrice said, Ralph Lauren had lost its way in the U.S. In a nutshell, overdistribution in the pursuit of growth had led to dilution of the brand Lauren had launched with a single tie decades earlier, audaciously priced at three times competitors like Christian Dior. It was time for a reset. It wouldn't be easy, but the global tragedy that was COVID was forcing hands across every industry anyway, so at least the timing was right.
How Louvet keeps Ralph Lauren as going as one of the fashion world's most successful dream factories was topic one. The idea that consistently creating fashion people want to buy starts not on a drawing board or what colors will be hot next year, but as the embodiment of a vibe that Lauren himself conjures, is a major differentiator.
"He and I had a fascinating conversation a few months into my tenure," Louvet said. "The company was going through challenging times and it felt like we need to get back to our roots. And a lot of people would say, 'Well, Ralph Lauren, you do great dresses or shirts or ties. And we would say, 'Actually, no, that's not the business we're in.’ We shut down about two thirds of our department store doors, and I don't regret it," Louvet said. "We took the hit, the numbers were ugly, but we weren't in this for one quarter or a year. We're in this for the next 10 to 20 years and felt like we absolutely had to do this reset, and it is serving us super well."
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