Ralph Lauren embarks upon restructuring plan

By

Olivier Guyot

Published
Jun 8, 2015

Ralph Lauren is embarking upon an effort to restructure its business. The American company has decided to reorganize itself based on six divisions: luxury brands, Polo, Denim & Supply, Chaps - American Living, Ralph Lauren Home, and finally Club Monaco.

Overseen by Christopher Peterson, the reorganization should make it possible to standardize collections at the international level and to reduce the number of products. According to the latest presentation by management, the savings will be substantial. 

The company also announced a savings target of 100 million dollars per year through the restructuring plan beginning in 2017.

And it’s not only apparel that the Ralph Lauren intends to streamline. According to WWD, the company has also begun to reduce 5% of its global workforce: at least 750 jobs are concerned. The company has also budgeted for between 70 and 100 million dollars to support its restructuring costs. 

"Consistent with what was reported after our May earnings call, as part of Ralph Lauren Corp.’s new brand management structure to maximize growth and achieve meaningful operating and financial efficiencies, we are reducing our full-time workforce. Making these kinds of decisions is difficult but necessary, and our new structure will create a platform for profitable growth by allowing us to both improve our global brand equities and drive operating efficiency over time," a spokesperson told WWD.

In its latest presentations, the company stated that is has about 25,000 employees worldwide, including 15,000 that are full time. 

It appears that layoffs began on Thursday, May 4 and affect the company’s various departments. Contacted in order to judge the plan’s impact on its European teams, the Ralph Lauren group had not yet responded to our questions at the time this article was published.