...Ralph Lauren Demetria Moore Management 521 September 29, 2011 Machelle Thompson Strategic Initiatives Ralph Lauren’s commitment to originality enabled the company to satisfy customers and gain a global market share. As on of the world leading marketer, Ralph Lauren possesses one of the strongest global brand names recognized in today’s retail industry. The company strategically aspires to develop and increase globally. Ralph Lauren took control of the companies in Asia to benefit from opportunities in up-and-coming markets, for example China, South Korea, and India. Foreign companies are growing interest in luxury markets. Wealthy people in China are willing to spend money on expensive clothing and gaining a desire for luxury product. China’s retail sales have been rising as a household income inspires spending on cars, furniture, and clothing. Asia is the largest target for luxury brands, reporting more sales than any other region. Sales across the world have increased as the strength of the global economy helps consumers in Asia, and China. Consumers spending behavior may reduce because of an increase in fuel, high levels of unemployment, high debts levels may have a negative affect on their income and the company’s growth and profitability will decrease. To retain the existing market share, Ralph Lauren may have to reduce its sales prices, which could affect its margins. Some strategic changes on how to manage Ralph Laurens products is to have direct control over...
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...The History of Ralph Lauren Ralph Lauren is one of the biggest designers in the world. Ralph Lauren formally known as Ralph Lifshitz was born in 1939 in the Bronx, New York to Jewish parents from Eastern Europe. He changed his name because growing up he was made fun of because of his last name. Ralph worked as a salesman for Brooks Brothers and at Beau Brummell, a necktie purveyor. Ralph gained his background in men's wear by working for Datrian Riser. Ralph received a $50,000 loan to start his men's tie line. The original RL cooperation was launched in 1967 as a men's tie company which he sold out of a draw in the Beau Brummell showroom in the Empire State building. In 1967 Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdale’s started to buy his ties to sell in there department stores where he was able to make $500,000 in sales his first year. By 1969 he opens a boutique in the Bloomingdales department store. 1 In 1971 Ralph Lauren launched his first women's collection of apparel inspired by designing clothes for his wife he called this collection Polo by Ralph Lauren. Later that year he opened his first store in Beverly Hills, California. He released a women suit line where he first introduced the polo logo which he placed on the cuff of the suits. The logo consists of an outline of a polo player sitting on top of a horse which is now recognized all over the world. Shortly after he released his famous short sleeve polo shirt with the logo on the upper left in 1972 in 24 colors (some of the colors...
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...Jason Schmied Mr. T Introduction to Business 20 November 2013 Ralph Lauren Polo Ralph Lauren was born on October 14, 1939 as Ralph Lifshitz, in Bronx, New York City. He was born into a Jewish family, originally from Belarus, as one of three boys. When he turned sixteen, he and his brother Jerry changed his last name legally to Lauren, after being made fun of in school. However, his brother Lenny kept the original last name. Lauren began his study of business at Baruch College in Manhattan for two years, then served in the Army for a short time, and later became a salesman at Brooks Brothers (Ralph Lauren Bio). In 1967, finally fed up with selling other people’s neckties, Lauren began making his own neckwear. With no experience in fashion besides selling men’s clothing, Lauren was still able to convince Beau Brummel to manufacture his Polo line of neckwear, and began selling his Polo brand in large department stores, such as Bloomingdales. In 1968, he created his own company – Polo Fashion – with the help of his brother Jerry and a $50,000 loan. Along with the neckwear, Polo expanded into men suits, shirts, and sportswear. Lauren received the Coty Award for menswear in 1970, and following this achievement, designed a line of women’s tailored shirt in a classic men’s style. Within three years from the start of Polo Fashion, sales were already reaching $10 million (Polo History). In 1971, the company began offering franchises to allow the entire store to focus...
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...Elements of Brand Equity in Ralph Lauren In the case of Ralph Lauren, the company managed to come up with various brand identifies ranging from logo and symbols, Unique Selling Proposition (USP), brand ambassadors and style among others .These identifiers facilitated in mapping the consumer brain with the main target being creating awareness and brand loyalty The first achievement that the company made was to successfully associate its product with the name ‘Ralph Lauren’. This became the brand name of the company and therefore consumers were capable of distinguishing its product among others. Secondly, as Keller (2008) notes in his work, the company adopted another brand identifier in its products line -the polo logo .This logo attained an appreciable position in the company’s brand equity considering the fact that polo sport was becoming so popular the year early 1970s majority of the sport lovers were therefore lured into associating the company’s product with the sport and they formed a market niche of some kind. Another form of brand equity that the company achieved was the imaging in terms of price. Besides, the company engaged in selling ties at a high price than the prevailing market price (Keller 2008). Thus it confused and deceived customers into believing that the higher price is due to the quality subsequently, the company applied the concept of brand ambassadors in marketing its products. This improved the company’s style of marketing and advertising as well shifting...
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...Ralph Lauren Shelby Gray Group #2 BUS 440.02 11:30 0 COMPANY OVERVIEW Polo Ralph Lauren is a company specializing in the production of lifestyle products. Ralph Lauren began forty years ago with simply a collection of ties and now has grown into an entire culture that has redefined American Style. Ralph Lauren stands for providing quality products and inviting people to take part in their dream. Ralph Lauren was the innovator of lifestyle advertisements and the first fashion company to create stores to invite customers to participate in that lifestyle. HISTORY 1 RALPH LAUREN SWOT ANALYSIS Table 1 Ralph Lauren EFE Matrix Weight Rating Weighted Score OPPORTUNITIES -‐Boost internet sales 0.20 3 0.6 -‐Development of private labels within department stores -‐Development of philanthropic campaigns THREATS 0.16 3 0.48 0.13 2 0.26 -‐Fluctuating exchange rates 0.18 3 0.54 -‐Huge competition within target market -‐Dependence on licenses 0.13 2 0.26...
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...Annotated bibliography (entries in alphabetical order): RALPH ELLISON Blake, Susan L. “Ritual and Rationalization: Black Folklore in the Works of Ralph Ellison.” Modern Language Association of America (PMLA) 94.1 (1979): 121-136. Print. Summary: One of the main themes in the work of Ralph Ellison is the search for cultural identity. Ellison bridges the gap between the uniqueness and the universality of black experience by his use of black folklore. Blake reviews his work and discovers that it is packed full of folktales and tellers, trinkets, toasts, songs, sermons, jazz, jive, and jokes. She delves into Invisible Man explicitly, but also analyses his most important short stories. Additionally, Blake evaluates other critics’ comments on his dependency on Western mythology, as well as explains Ellison’s final result of rationalization in tackling racial issues by his use of rituals in his writing. Relevance: This article is important when researching the symbolism in Ellison’s work. Especially Blake’s extensive reading and explanation of the presence of rituals in his novel are significant (p. 134) and could be useful when researching ritual as a recurring theme in (black) literature. Booth, W. J. “The Color of Memory: Reading Race with Ralph Ellison.” Political Theory 36.5 (2008): 683-707. Print. Summary: In this article, Booth investigates which multiple aspects enumerate to one ‘cultural identity’. Color, memory, and identity together belong to the struggle...
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...Ralph Waldo Emerson (18031882) Beauty Was never form and never face So sweet to SEYD as only grace Which did not slumber like a stone, But hovered gleaming and was gone. Beauty chased he everywhere, In flame, in storm, in clouds of air. He smote the lake to feed his eye With the beryl beam of the broken wave; He flung in pebbles well to hear The moment's music which they gave. Oft pealed for him a lofty tone From nodding pole and belting zone. He heard a voice none else could hear From centred and from errant sphere. The quaking earth did quake in rhyme, Seas ebbed and flowed in epic chime. In dens of passion, and pits of woe, He saw strong Eros struggling through, To sun the dark and solve the curse, And beam to the bounds of the universe. While thus to love he gave his days In loyal worship, scorning praise, How spread their lures for him in vain Thieving Ambition and paltering Gain! He thought it happier to be dead, To die for Beauty, than live for bread This section introduces the idea that beauty is a part of nature that serves our needs. Emerson finds that the landscape has perfect order; this order creates a unity composed of the eye beholding a scene and the natural light highlighting the scene's inherent beauty. The third point Emerson makes concerning beauty is that it is pleasing to the intellect. Continuing his theme of nature's perfect order through the time era of romanticism...
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...competitors to the Ralph Lauren, Polo company that I intend to incorporate into this research are: 1.) Lacoste- A retail clothing company that was founded in 1933 by the legendary tennis player Rene Lacoste. 2.) Abercrombie and Fitch- An All-American retail clothing company that was founded David T. Abercrombie in 1892. 3.) Calvin Klein- A retail clothing company that was founded in 1968 by Calvin Klein. All three companies are publicly traded and have been in competition with Ralph Lauren Polo for quite some time now. History: Ralph Lifshitz was born on October 14, 1939 to a middle class Jewish family living in the Bronx. Throughout some point in Ralph’s life he changed his last name to Lauren for personal reasons. His mother had always envisioned Ralph to become a rabbi when he was of age however; Ralph chose not to pursue that life. Ralph’s father also was a part of his life and was an artist and a housepainter. The company that Ralph Lauren started was titled “Polo”. This began approximately around the late 1960’s. Lauren started out as a clothing salesman selling clothes for other people’s clothing stores and clothing lines. Mainly he sold men’s gloves, suits, and ties. Ralph got tired of selling other people’s clothing and wanted to get in the business his self and begin creating his own clothes that he could sell. At the time he had no experience in fashion design, but he grew up in one of the biggest fashion capitals in the universe, New York. Ralph went to his...
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...Ralph Waldo Ellison Ralph Waldo Ellison was born on March 1, 1914, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and named after journalist and poet Ralph Waldo Emerson. Ellison's doting father, Lewis, who loved children and read books voraciously, worked as an ice and coal deliverer. He died from a work-related accident when Ellison was only three years old. His mother Ida then raised Ralph and younger brother Herbert by herself, working a variety of jobs to make ends meet. In his future book of essays Shadow and Act, Ellison described himself and several of his friends growing up as young Renaissance Men, people who looked to culture and intellectualism as a source of identity. A budding instrumentalist, Ellison took up the cornet at the age of 8 and years later, as a trumpeter, attended Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, where he studied music with his eye on becoming a symphony composer. In 1936, Ellison went to New York over the summer with the intent of earning enough money to pay for his college expenses, but ended up relocating. He started to work as a researcher and writer for the New York Federal Writers Program, and was befriended by writers Richard Wright, Langston Hughes and Alan Locke, who all mentored the fledgling scribe. During this period, Ellison began to publish some of his essays and short stories, and worked as managing editor for The Negro Quarterly. Writing `Invisible` Man` Ellison started writing what would become “The invisible Man” while at a friend’s farm in Vermont...
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...Ralph Lauren was born by the name of Ralph Lipschitz in New York City on October 14, 1939. He grew up in Bronx, New York City. After high school, he took business classes at night school and worked in sales by day. While working for a tie company, he was inspired to begin designing his own neckwear, and in 1967 he went into business for himself, changing his last name to Lauren and marketing his unique line of ties under the name of Polo. From the inception of his brand, Lauren’s creations were characterized by a moneyed style that evoked the look of English aristocracy, as adapted by the sporty, East-Coast American elite. His first menswear line in 1968 featured classic tweed suits, and his first suits women’s wear line in 1971 continued his explorations of classic tailoring and good taste, but with a feminine twist. In 1972 Lauren debuted what would become his signature piece: the mesh sport shirt, available in a variety of colours and featuring his trademark emblem of the most aristocratic of athletes, the polo player. The Ralph Lauren style became a nationwide phenomenon after he dressed the male actors in the 1974 film adaptation of The Great Gatsby in clothing from his current line. The film's evocation of the lost, elegant era of F. Scott Fitzgerald provided a perfect vehicle for Lauren's classic, sometimes nostalgic, vision. The designer received further attention when he created the clothing for Annie Hall (1977), in which Woody Allen sported traditional oxford button-down...
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...The narrator is the key and main character in Ralph Ellison’s eloquent novel, Invisible Man. Mr. Ellison’s portrayal of the narrator is colorful, meaningful, one that can withstand time and identifiable for all. This portrayal transcends all color barriers as well as any socioeconomic background. It was masterful of Mr. Ellison to highlight a young man in his prime and build a story around his coming of age. Any one of us can relate to how it is to be away from home for the first time in your life and you feel you are an adult, a person that can make their own decisions, be accountable, responsible, and trustworthy all on the premise of who you are, yourself. For some of us it begins with the experience of college, some it may happen a little sooner or perhaps a little later. For me, it was later. I had just recently completed a college program in downtown Chicago and landed my first real job. It was acquired not through any linkage to any work study program from school or helping out friends of relatives or anyone I personally knew. This was the real deal. I was working for a huge international insurance company by the name of INA. They were known for their property and casualty underwriting business. Soon after I came on board, INA was merged to form a new and bigger company, CIGNA. I had hit the big time! I was hired to assist a gentleman by the name of John Anderson who lived in Elmhurst, Illinois. I bonded with him immediately upon interviewing with him, and I was...
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...Invisible Man Essay In the early 1950's, Ralph Ellison debuted his highly acclaimed novel, Invisible Man. During the time when the civil rights movement was first spreading, Invisible Man not only touched the hearts of many but also addressed the social and intellectual challenges that African Americans felt during that time period. The novel's main character, who is never named, lets us into his life and shares his deepest fears. Readers quickly realize who the narrator perceives himself to be and how everyone else perceives him are two completely different things. The narrator slowly begins to doubt himself and question his own blindness and invisibility. In the beginning and in the middle of the novel, the narrator of Invisible Man thinks of himself as nothing but an intelligent young man. He was valedictorian of his high school and was invited to speak at a boxing match. Little did he know that he would be put in the ring as well, but nonetheless he got the chance to present his speech among men of the community. The men at the match even award the narrator a full-ride to a college in the south. The narrator embarks on his journey and feels at home at the college. He does well in school and is known among people on the campus. The narrator is asked to show an esteemed trustee of the college, Mr. Norton, around campus which he believes is a great honor due only to his superb skills and worthy character. After the incident at the Golden Day, the narrator is expelled from...
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...Ralph Ellison’s Influential Life and Works Ralph Ellison has become one of the most influential American writers of the twentieth century. His most famous novel, “Invisible Man” has be a great influence on many Americans, and continues to grow in popularity. Ellison found inspiration for the book from his own life, which makes it important to learn more about him, to help see the brilliance behind his National Book Award winning novel. Ellison’s life is the source of much of his inspiration, and analyzing the Invisible Man in depth while comparing the novel to his life can show where his brilliance comes from. Who is Ralph Ellison and where did he come from? He was born in Oklahoma City where he was raised by his mother and father, Alfred Ellison and Ida Millsap. (“Ralph (Waldo) Ellison” 1) His father, Alfred Ellison, passed away when he was thirty-nine leaving the Ida, Ellison, and Herbert, Ellison’s brother, alone to fend for themselves. This brought an immense change on Ellison’s life as this left the family with little money and resources to survive. At 19 years of age Ellison moved away from his home in Oklahoma and enrolled in the Tuskegee Institute, an institute founded by Booker T. Washington, where he studied music for three years. Due to the lack of financial resources, Ellison was never able to graduate from Tuskegee Institute and left after his third year. Hoping to find work and return to school, Ellison moved to New York in 1936 where he continued to live...
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...RALPH WALDO EMERSON “FROM PULPIT TO PULPIT From pulpit to pulpit or does it only appear that way to a few. Ralph Waldo Emerson’s career began in the midst of tragedy and controversy. Emerson first lost his wife Barely a year after marriage in 1831. Emerson then resigned as Pastor of the Second Unitarian Church of Boston in 1832. Both of these events were to be major turning points in Ralph Waldo Emerson’s life. Somewhere around 1833 or 1834 Emerson set sail for the Old World, Italy being the first destination of his journey. Emerson, R. W. (1959) Sherrill, R. A. (Sept 2007) After some thirty plus days at sea, He finally arrived in the Mediterranean and started his whirlwind tour of Italy. He visited most of the same places frequented by tourist Art Galleries, Churches, and other places of natural beauty and historical significance. The next stop on his tour of the Old World was Switzerland after arriving there he spent the month of June. The third destination of his trip was Paris, France where he was to stay for the month of July. The final stop on this tour of the Old World was the United Kingdom namely England and Scotland. Emerson, R. W. (1959). After Emerson’s trip of Mediterranean and European areas he again endured another month at sea, back to Boston. Here he spent most of his time with his brothers, mother, and a few of his closest friends. It was during time of his life and career...
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...Date: March 15th, 2013 To: Jackwyn L. Nemerov, Executive Vice President of Ralph Lauren Corporation From: Yousuf Masud Subject: Brand Equity Analysis and Recommendations for Ralph Lauren Corporation Ralph Lauren Corporation, formerly known as Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation, is an upscale lifestyle and clothing company whose name has been associated with maturity and class since its inception in 1967 in New York City. It has been a major leader in the economic sector of consumer goods for years and has dominated the fields of design, marketing and distribution of premium lifestyle products. Despite the emergence of new edgy-fashion brands, Ralph Lauren still holds tremendous weight with investors and customers for its classic looks and strong brand recognition (Pasquarelli, 2012). Year after year Ralph Lauren has been able to stay competitive due to its renowned brand recognition and dedicated design team. Ralph Lauren’s brand name has been further strengthened through current partnerships and charity events. Their partnership with the Olympics, Wimbledon and USTA make the Ralph Lauren brand name recognized globally. Additionally, their charity work with underprivileged and undereducated communities has been essential in maintaining a positive image among all people, regardless of income or social status. While everything seems to be going in the right direction for Ralph Lauren Corporation, there are a few challenges that can adversely affect the well-being...
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