The company tripled its advertising spend at a time when recovery was a long way off. “A Le Tigre (an American brand designed to rival Lacoste in styling) or even a Polo was created by someone’s great marketing. “We’re not a made-up brand,” Siegel said. Lacoste played a long game to get their prestige back, resuscitating the brand. It took more than 10 years to recover from the misguided strategy. became one of its most profitable markets. The brand had reinvented itself and the U.S. Lacoste set up a special division called Propaganda Entertainment Marketing in Los Angeles, leading to Lacoste being worn by Gwyneth Paltrow in “The Royal Tenenbaums,” Lindsay Lohan in “Mean Girls,” Mathew Broderick in “The Stepford Wives,” and the cast of “The O.C.” It was slow in coming, but in February 2006, BusinessWeek reported that Lacoste USA’s sales had soared 1000%. He aimed to bring Lacoste to younger people and trend-setters. Sigel kept a close eye on where Lacoste products were placed in relation to other brands. Following the lead of Burberry and Apple, Lacoste also opened boutiques in Rodeo Drive and Madison Avenue. Instead, “The Crocodile” only became a fixture in premium locations, such as Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, and Nordstrom. “Saying ‘no’ is the best thing you can do for a brand,” he said. Sigel reduced the dilution of the brand by reducing the places Lacoste was sold (despite the long-drawn-out effects of the 2009 Great Recession). He increased prices, with men’s shirts rising to $69 and (better-fitting) women’s shirts increasing to $72. The only thing, he argued, that prevented his CEO tenure being a “suicide mission” was banking on the brand again. The retail executive took the opposite view. Despite this, he was still being advised to (once again) cut prices to satisfy investors. When former Levi’s executive, Robert Siegel, took over the lossmaking clothing brand in 2002, revenues were flatlining at $30 million. The exclusive famous polos also started being pushed as two-for-one offers. The shirts began to retail for as little as $35. In contrast, the once-proud crocodile polos found their way into clearance bins in stores including T.J. The once-revered brand quickly became identified as “cheap.” With superior branding and Lacoste oversaturated, Ralph Lauren won the battle. But the high-end brand almost instantly crashed out of the luxury leagues. This worked in the short term in driving sales for Lacoste. Lacoste then made an almost fatal mistake to stem the losses: It extended the number of places its shirts and apparel were sold, with prices cut to fight back against competitors. The 1980s became the decade of the polo shirt as Lacoste and Ralph Lauren’s polos battled for the cash of Americans coast to coast. However, faced with rising competition (in particular, Ralph Lauren was founded in 1967), the crocodile was drowning in a swamp of competitors and it became less relevant. The Biggest Marketing Fail for a Luxury Brand
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