Patrice Louvet says Ralph Lauren left about $1 billion in revenue on the table as it pulled back from places where, “frankly, we weren’t proud of being.” When he became CEO in 2017, the company had stretched its brand too far. His challenge was to restore the brand without compromising the creative “magic” that made Ralph Lauren distinctive.
After nearly three decades at Procter & Gamble, Louvet came from a world of data, structure and business logic. At Ralph Lauren, he had to learn when the numbers should lead and when they should follow the magic. Defining the company as being in the “dreams business” became the foundation for deciding where the brand belonged, what it should stop doing and how it could grow without losing what made it special.
Today, Ralph Lauren has no shortage of opportunities to expand — including into hotels, Louvet says. The challenge is no longer finding new avenues for growth, but knowing which ones to pursue without repeating the gradual dilution that weakened the brand before.
For Louvet, that comes down to a deceptively simple principle: knowing what you can do is not the same as knowing what you should do.
About the Show
The CEO Signal is Semafor’s interview platform for conversations with the global CEOs whose decisions are shaping the future of the new world economy. Hosted by Penny Pritzker and Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, the show explores the moments of judgment that define leadership.
Penny Pritzker
Penny Pritzker is the founder and chairman of PSP Partners and served as U.S. Secretary of Commerce from 2013 to 2017.
Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson
Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson is CEO Editor at Semafor and a former Financial Times journalist who has spent decades covering global companies and corporate leadership.