Ralph Lauren chopping a 1,000 jobs – about eight percent of its full-time positions – and shutting down fifty stores. It’s part of a sweeping plan to lower costs and revive sales.
The problem? Not much demand for luxury apparel and accessories, plus heavy discounts in department stores.
Also, the company’s lower-end Polo and Lauren labels are losing business to fast fashion retailers, like H&M and Zara.
Retail analyst Mary Epner says, “They have too many divisions, too much product, slow lead times, and they were functioning like a brand the way that they did in the 2000s rather than now.”
She adds that they have failed to attract younger customers, and have missed the ball on adapting to the fast fashion reality.
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2016
