15 Things You Didn't Know About LACOSTE
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Fifteen things you didn't know about Lacoste. Welcome to a Lux.com, the place where future billionaires come to get inspired. Hello, Alxer, and welcome to another LXCOM original video. This is the best place to get inspired and learn more about the things that make the earth go round. Today, we'll look at one of the greatest clothing companies in the world, and it's none other than Lacoste.
Lacoste is a French clothing company that has been around for over 80 years now. It was founded by the tennis player Rene Lacoste and Andre Kooning. It's a place where you can get the best high-end clothing, eyewear, watches, leather goods, perfume, and even footwear. However, the most popular thing about the brand is their polo shirt. Lacoste is a big name, especially in the sporting world, and it commands a lot of respect from players in all corners of the industry.
So, without wasting any time, let's look at the 15 things you didn't know about Lacoste.
Number one: The founder Rene Lacoste was nicknamed "Crocodile," thus the logo. To recognize the company, all you need to do is locate the green crocodile. This logo was chosen due to the nickname given to Rene Lacoste in the tennis world; they called him the crocodile because of the tenacity he displayed on the court. If you didn't know how they came up with the crocodile, now you know! How's that for some trivial knowledge?
Number two: 50% of the brand has been sold off. Mostly, a Swiss Family Health Group bought off a chunk of the company in 2012. After the sale, the remaining 50% remained under the ownership of the family. Today, it's under Ron Wynn Lacoste, and he is expected to pass it on to Eliot Lacoste to retain the line within the family.
Number three: French designer Christoph Flamel brought a surge in the company. The popularity of the brand went really high when the designer brought in some new ideas to bring a more upscale and modern look to the company design. As a result, over 50 million of the Lacoste products were sold in more than 110 countries. Also, the contracts between the company and young tennis players have made the company even more visible. The players include Stanislas Wawrinka, who is a Swiss Olympic gold medalist; Richard Gasquet, who is a French veteran; and Andy Roddick and John Isner, who are both American stars in the tennis platform.
Number four: The company licenses the trademark to different companies. The company's trademark is often licensed out to other companies. Initially, Devon Lane was the sole owner of the license for the worldwide clothing exclusively. However, there are Lacoste polo shirts that are being manufactured in Thailand and also in China. There is also Pentland Group, which has a license to actually produce the Lacoste footwear. As for fragrances, the license is held by Procter & Gamble, while the leather goods and bags are produced by Similac.
Number five: You'll have to part with over eighty dollars for a Lacoste shirt. The clothing that Lacoste deals with is a high-end designer kind of clothing. The green crocodile tells you it's Lacoste. The clothing has very fine quality, but there have been complaints that they are too highly priced. Most of the Lacoste t-shirts and polos go for over $80 apiece. The financials of the company have been greatly guarded since it's a private company, but it has been around for such a long time, which means that it is definitely making good profit.
Number six: The environmental practices of the company have been questioned. Lacoste has been in the "Dirty Laundry" report that is created by the environmental group Greenpeace. The findings of the report found that Lacoste had been working with Chinese suppliers that contribute to the pollution of the Pearl and Yangtze rivers. There were samples taken that revealed that there were indeed persistent and hazardous hormone-disrupting chemicals in the water that included perfluorooctane sulfonate, perfluorinated compounds, as well as alkyl phenols.
Number seven: Lacoste had a falling out with Larissa Senser in 2011. Lacoste received accusations that they were censoring the work of Larissa Senser, who is a Palestinian artist. She had been included in the shortlist where eight nominees were chosen for the Lacoste Alizée prize, which is a very prestigious award. The competition had been set up by Musa Deniz in Switzerland, and Lacoste sponsored the event. The artist's entry into the competition was entitled "Nation Estate," which had to do with the dystopic sci-fi images that were based on her country's admission into UNESCO. However, before selection, Lacoste asked the museum to remove the nominee, and they cited the work as being too pro-Palestinian. This prompted the artist to go public, which in turn led to the museum coming out and giving her their support. They also said that they had decided to end their ties with Lacoste since it was insisting that the artist be eliminated. This attempt to eliminate the Palestinian artist led to a negative media report regarding the company.
Number eight: The founder Rene Lacoste wasn't a naturally talented tennis player. The founder of Lacoste didn't engage in his first game until he was 15 years old. Rene wasn't a natural tennis player, but he was very disciplined, and he had the drive to be really good at it. His intelligence as a strategist also helped him to become one of the best tennis players of his time. His father had actually issued him with an ultimatum that if he were allowed to play tennis, then he had to be the champion player in only five years. In his career, he was able to win seven Grand Slam championship tournaments.
Number nine: During his years of fame, tennis players had to wear ties. The idea for Lacoste wear came because Rene saw the attire they used in the sport was rather restrictive at the time. The typical tennis outfit included a white shirt that was long-sleeved, button-down, long pants, and unbelievably, even a tie! This was a lot of clothes to wear as you race all the way to the net to get that overhead shot. He needed to find something more comfortable, and this led to the creation of his brand.
Number ten: Rene Lacoste did defeat Bill Tilden before retiring from tennis. After he'd designed the new attire, he wore it on the court himself. He was able to defeat Bill in the 20s, and this was how France got their very first victory, and they held on to it for five more years. Bill said that Rene was actually the greatest brain he'd met in tennis and that he underestimated the player. Lacoste had been able to find a way to beat him, and he realized this very late. Rene had to retire from tennis at 25 due to his respiratory disease. He then dedicated his life to making the finest tennis wear.
Number eleven: Lacoste's expansion only really started in the 50s. Initially, the company only produced clothes for tennis; however, the real expansion of the company only came about when Lacoste introduced colored shirts in the 1970s. The popularity of clothing reached the US. The greatest appeal was the crocodile emblem, and this fact actually surprised the founder himself. The single logo has since spawned many imitators throughout the world.
Number twelve: The company exchanged hands from father to son in the 60s. Vanguard Lacoste took over the amazing company in the year 1964 and was able to introduce even more lines to the business. The company has constantly hired experts to boost its look and visibility, which has led to a surge in popularity. Today, almost everyone wants to wear Lacoste polo, regardless of their occupation.
Number thirteen: The founder of the brand was said to have a mechanical mind. The tennis player never really lagged behind in his pursuits as an athlete; he was a perfectionist. Even in his sporting career, there was once a coach that really criticized him because he felt he was overtraining. He also seemed to wear out his fellow practice partners. This is why Lacoste created the tennis ball machine. This was a hand-crank device which he called the "Lacoste ball." This guy also created his own version of the tennis racket.
Number fourteen: The founder's inventive mind didn't stop at clothes. Rene Lacoste was very inventive, and he did contribute to other areas outside of tennis. He came up with the polyurethane driver that saw a transition in the sport to clubs that were based on composite materials. Lacoste filed some new patents from the 60s to the 80s. The Lacoste brand sure has a great mind behind it.
Number fifteen: Clothing proved to be Lacoste's greatest success. Despite his over-creative mind and the ability to create some of the most amazing things, the clothing line is what made him into a household name. The founder of Lacoste actually stood against all that traditional on-court fashion and opted for the polo shirts. He plunged head-on into the market after he left tennis, and the rest is history.
Do you think the Lacoste fashion and apparel items deserve their hefty price in the market? Let us know in the comments. And if you stuck around until the end, here's another final fact for you: the founder of Lacoste died in 1996 due to heart failure experienced after he had surgery on his leg. He also, unfortunately, had prostate cancer.
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