Ralph Lauren and Tapestry may be very different companies, yet they share a lot of traits. Both are growing strongly in their home market (meaning the US), redefining affordable luxury, expanding their customer bases and raising prices with ease. Just as in China, where consumers are increasingly drawn to local brands (even if those brands manufacture in China), the same trend is now taking hold in the United States. Americans want to buy from American brands — even if their production is largely in Asia. And Europe is feeling the impact.
Ralph Lauren’s surge
Ralph Lauren has reported revenues of USD 7 billion, USD 3 billion of which come from North America (the US and Canada). Back in 2021, it posted sales of USD 4.4 billion and a net loss. The most recent financial year closed with a profit of USD 743 million. Its share price has climbed by more than 70% over the past year, and the company’s market capitalisation now stands at USD 19 billion. Another striking figure: between 2018 and 2024, Ralph Lauren’s product prices are estimated to have risen by around 80%. The brand plans further growth, focusing on womenswear and handbags.
How to explain the boom? Iris Langlois-Meurinne, Chief Marketing Officer, says the brand is reinventing how it communicates with consumers: “We don’t infiltrate culture, we shape it”. CEO Patrice Louvet told WWD: “Ralph Lauren has never been about clothes. It’s a brand inspired by possibility, with optimism and a vision of a better life.” The supply chain is not US-based. On the impact of tariffs, CFO Justin Picicci said: “We have diversified in such a way that no single country of origin accounts for more than 20% of our sourcing — and most are in the single digits”.
How Tapestry is succeeding
Tapestry also reports revenues just over USD 7 billion, with North America accounting for nearly two-thirds of sales. Its share price has risen 68% in the past year, and the group has a market capitalisation of USD 21.9 billion. In 2021, sales stood at USD 5.75 billion, though profits were higher. The company had to contend with the unexpected failure of its planned merger with Capri Holdings — which paradoxically became a springboard. Tapestry capitalised on the revival of Coach, improved margins and a decisive push towards Generation Z. Strategic moves included divesting Stuart Weitzman and focusing on direct-to-consumer sales.
“We are winning with a new generation of consumers, particularly with the momentum we are seeing at Coach”, CEO Joanne Crevoiserat told WWD. “And we are doing so because we’re not thinking about the market in perhaps traditional terms”. Coach’s long-term goal is to grow from current sales of USD 5.6 billion to USD 10 billion. Tapestry, too, has a diversified supply chain: Vietnam, Cambodia and the Philippines have all benefited from the shift of production out of China. Certain higher-end products — particularly for Kate Spade and limited Coach lines — are made in Italy, notably footwear and luxury leather goods.
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