How Ralph Lauren learned to love polo.

Last December I was in Jose Ignacio, a beach town in Uruguay, with Annie, Merel, Liz and Xan. On New Year's Eve we went to Marismo, a restaurant in the woods that can only be found by following the lights in the trees. The setting is magical with a house like Swiss Family Robinson's and tables spread around camp fires in the sand. Annie recognized our waiter from the year before and soon we had our sandals off, a bottle of champagne on ice, and appetizers on the way. Before midnight I excused myself and went to look for the men's room. I was in there for about a minute when I noticed that someone, having skipped the usual knock at the door, was busy trying to force it open. So I said one moment please and went over to the sink to wash up. When I opened up I saw immediately that it was Ralph Lauren - a man who mustn't be kept waiting.

When you hear the word "polo" what comes to mind first? For the majority of Americans it may be Ralph Lauren's colognes rather than the equestrian sport. When thinking of pony polo, most citizens of the United States may have in their minds only a vague idea of horses and mallets and the Prince of Wales. In places other than East Hampton and Palm Beach, Lauren's logo itself - the little polo player getting ready to hit a ball - is probably the most familiar image of the sport. The sport of polo may not have a lot of reach, but I was surprised to learn that in 40 years in business, Ralph Lauren has never had any connection to it. In recent years his corporation has sponsored the US Open and Wimbledon as well as a number of pro golfers, but as far as the game on horseback, Lauren has not only not had any involvement, the company has repeatedly sued the United States Polo Association over alleged trademark violations.

The New York Times reported today that all that has finally changed. The Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation now sponsors the East Hampton/Palm Beach team, Black Watch, and has designed new jerseys for the squad which you can buy at ralphlauren.com. Happily, it seems, the company has put aside years of unseemly feuding with the sport: polo has at long last gotten together with polo.

So where did this change of heart come from? And where did Ralph and company find inspiration for the new Black Watch shirt? Does part of the answer lie in a trip Ralph and his entourage took to Argentina last December and a chance encounter at a restaurant in Jose Ignacio?

Ralph Lauren was born Ralph Lifschitz in the Bronx New York in 1939. At age 16, Ralph's brother Jerry changed their last name. Ralph was 17 when he started working for Alexanders Department store as a part-time sales assistant and later also worked for Bloomingdale's and Brooks Brothers. In the early sixties he served in the US Army. In the mid-sixties he worked as traveling salesman for a Boston neck wear manufacturer. In 1967 he was a designer for the Polo Neckwear Division of Beau Brummel. A year later, with the help of a backer, he bought the name and launched Polo Fashions. By 1969 he was operating a boutique within Bloomingdale's in New York and in 1971 he opened his first retail store on Rodeo Drive. Lauren later did the costuming for The Great Gatsby(1973) and Annie Hall (1977), two films that had a great influence on fashion in that era. The Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation now has 14,000 employees and a market cap of nearly $8 billion.

The famous short sleeve shirt with the polo player logo first appeared in 1972 and a line of copy from the original ad read, "Every team has its color - Polo has 24." For the new Black Watch team shirt Ralph Lauren wisely chose just black and white. The company states on its web site that it is "is pleased to be the official sponsor of Black Watch and will provide match and practice apparel—polos, caps, fleece pullovers and additional accessories—for the team as well as for its managers and grooms." Black Watch, by the way,"borrows its name from the renowned Black Watch Scottish fighting regiment that served the British crown for 266 years." The new shirts are made of "lustrous mercerized cotton mesh" and come embroidered with the team's high profile player Ignacio Figueras' number 2.

Figueras is a 29 year old player from Argentina. He is also, not coincidentally, a model for Ralph Lauren. Figueras is currently visible in airports as the face of Polo Black cologne. A professional polo player since the age of 17, Nacho started working for Ralph Lauren when he met Bruce Weber 7 years ago. Weber paired him in a campaign with Penelope Cruz.

Figueras must have also served as an advisor for the Lauren's trip to Argentina and Uruguay in late December 2006 and early January 2007. The Lauren entourage visited their own store, in a beautiful townhouse on Alvear Avenue, and spent time at an estancia where they probably watched a polo match. They then traveled to Uruguay to kick off the new year in Jose Ignacio. They chose Marismo for their New Year's Eve celebration and that takes us back to our story.

When I got back to our table I reported my encounter with Ralph Lauren, and everyone thought I must have got it wrong. Maybe too much champagne, they said. I assured them that it had been him. But then it was time to welcome the new year and we got up to dance barefoot in the sand around one of the big fires. A couple joined us and confirmed that yes, Ralph Lauren was in town, and yes that was him sitting over there with his party, hard to miss actually since all 20 of them were dressed from head to toe in white. We looked and we could see that they were watching us dance.

Soon Liz decided that she would go over to say hello and try to get us in for photos, but she needed an ice breaker. Xan and I had recently bought slick black and white polo jerseys in Buenos Aires and he was wearing his that night. So I said just ask Ralph what he thinks of the shirt. Liz walked over to their table and introduced herself to Ralph and sure enough could soon be seen pointing back at us. We took the cue and before long all of us were standing around chatting with Ralph and company. We met his wife Ricky, his brother Jerry and the Lauren's cute little dog. Jerry was quite enthusiastic about the polo shirt which was designed by Etiqueta Negra (Black Label) for the Argentine team Ellerstina. We joked that Xan had number 1 and I had number 2. They told us about their trip and we took some pictures. After that we excused ourselves and headed back to our table feeling a little star struck. Here is Xan with Ralph and Xan again with Ralph's brother Jerry Lauren.





Did the Laurens learn to love polo on that trip? And was the Etiqueta Negra jersey Xan wore that night the inspiration for Ralph Lauren's new Black Watch shirts? As far as the later question, I'll let you be the judge. Here are pictures from Etiqueta Negra and Ralph Lauren.

A coincidence? Maybe, maybe not. I have more fun believing that yes, everything gelled on that trip. The best polo in the world is played in Argentina: the best ponies and players are also from here. On their trip, the Laurens may have been watching a match when they realized how nicely everything fit together. The company had had Figueras under contract for 7 years, but his profile had recently skyrocketed. And he played for a polo team with a cool name. A sponsorship would be a relatively low cost, low risk move with potential benefits on the marketing side. They were certainly aware of the success Argentine companies like La Martina have had marketing polo apparel. A new Ralph Lauren team polo could carve out a niche in the US as an upscale alternative to the ususal baseball shirt.

And then, in a restaurant in the woods, they stumbled on the perfect look for their new shirt.

So how is the team doing now after all that? Unfortunately, last month, Black Watch/Ralph Lauren lost in the finals of the Mercedes Benz Challenge Cup to Two Trees/La Dolfina. But La Dolfina features Adolfo Cambiaso, the best player in the world. On the business side I see that Polo Ralph Lauren stock is down about 25% since early July. Like many competitors the company has been hurt by consolidation in the department store industry. To combat this Lauren has been investing in a new "Global Brand Concepts" business.

Whoever's in charge of that business had better make something happen in a hurry because, Ralph, the son of a house painter from the Bronx, doesn't like to be kept waiting.