Lacoste

History
René Lacoste was a famous French tennis player who obtained fame in two areas: tennis and fashion. While winning the 1926 U.S. Open championship, Rene Lacoste of France wore something that he himself had created: a white, short-sleeve shirt made exclusively of a light knitted fabric called ‘jersey petit piqué’ that served to wick away moisture due to heat, the very first version of performance clothing in sports.

The shirt was a radical departure from tennis fashion of the day, which called for stiff, woven, long-sleeve oxfords. In 1927 during the Davis Cup, the American press nicknamed Lacoste "the Alligator" because of a bet made about an alligator-skin suitcase. With no cognate in his native tongue, the nickname was changed to le crocodile in French. The nickname stuck due to his tenacious behavior on the courts, never giving up his prey. Lacoste’s friend, Robert Geore, drew him a crocodile which Lacoste then embroidered on the blazer he wore on the courts.

After retiring from tennis, Lacoste founded La Societe Chemise Lacoste in 1933 with André Gillier, the owner and President of the largest French knitwear manufacturing firm at the time. They began to produce the revolutionary tennis shirt Lacoste had designed and worn on the tennis courts with the crocodile appliqué embroidered on the chest, serving as the first example of a brand name appearing on the outside of an article of clothing. In addition to tennis shirts, Lacoste produced shirts for golf and sailing. In 1951, the company began to expand as it branched from "tennis white" and introduced color shirts. In 1952 the shirts were exported to the United States and advertised as "the status symbol of the competent sportsman", influencing the clothing choices of the upper-class.

 Lacoste tennis shirt, from the 2006 spring collectionIn 1963, Bernard  took over the management of the company from his father René. Significant company growth was seen under Bernard's management.

 When he became president, around three hundred thousand  products were sold annually. The  brand reached its height of popularity in the US during the 1970s when the tennis shirt became an essential of the preppy wardrobe, even getting mentioned in Lisa Birnbach's Official Preppy Handbook of 1980. Lacoste also began to introduce other products into their line including Lacoste shorts, Lacoste perfume, Lacoste optical and Lacoste sunglasses, Lacoste tennis shoes, Lacoste deck shoes, Lacoste walking shoes, Lacoste watches, and various Lacoste leather goods.

In the United States in the 1970s and 1980s, Izod and Lacoste were often used interchangeably because at that time, Izod produced clothing known as "Izod Lacoste" under license for sale in the U.S. This partnership ended in 1993, when Lacoste regained exclusive U.S. rights to distribute shirts under its own brand. It was also in the 80's when Le Tigre Clothing came around. It was said to be the American alternative to the French brand.

More recently, Lacoste's popularity has surged due to French designer Christophe Lemaire’s work to create a more modern, upscale look. In 2005, almost fifty million Lacoste products sold in over one hundred and ten countries. Lacostes visibility has increased due to the contracts between Lacoste and several young tennis players, including American tennis star Andy Roddick and French rising young prospect Richard Gasquet. Lacoste has also begun to increase its presence in the golf world, where noted 2 time Master champion José María Olazábal has been seen sporting Lacoste shirts in tournaments. It has also developed an infamous reputation in Scotland as being the ned's clothing of choice.

Bernard Lacoste became seriously ill in early 2005, which led him to transfer the presidency of Lacoste to his younger brother and closest collaborator for many years, Michel Lacoste. Bernard died in Paris on March 21, 2006.

As of 2006, Lacoste licenses its trademark to various companies. For example, Devanlay owns the exclusive worldwide clothing license, Pentland Brands has the exclusive worldwide license to produce Lacoste footwear, and Samsonite holds the worldwide license to produce Lacoste bags and small leather goods.

"Mother of pearl" buttons - buttons made out of mother of pearl and are exclusive to genuine Lacoste shirts. Since mother of pearl is a naturally occurring substance, no two buttons should be exactly the same in appearance.

Company info
Lacoster is currently owned by Devanlay US, INC. The fragrance line is owned by Procter and Gamble.

Lacoste is headquartered in Paris, France. Lacoste currently has its production capital in Troyes, France, though they delegate production of international clothing to numerous factories around the world, including those found in Peru and Morocco.

Brand management
During the 1970's and 1980's, due to the extreme success of marketing Lacoste in the United States, Lacoste began licensing its trademark crocodile logo to large amounts of apparel manufacturers. Although this was a marketing success, it diminished the exclusive and prestigious image of Lacoste. Furthermore, licensing the logo made it difficult to regulate quality of the product, which further diminished the integrity of the product.

However, starting in 2000, with the hiring of a new fashion designer, Christopher Lemaire, Lacoste began to take over control of its brand name and logo, reining in their branding arrangements. Now, Lacoste has once again returned to the elite status it held before a brand management crisis in the '70s and '80s.