Lacoste facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Lacoste S.A.

Flagship store on the Champs-Élysées
Type	Société anonyme
Industry	Fashion
Founded	1933; 92 years ago (1933)
Founders	René Lacoste André Gillier
Headquarters	Paris, France
Number of locations	1,100 (2023)
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Didier Maus (Executive Chairman) Thierry Guibert (CEO) Eric Vallat Incoming (CEO) (September 2025) Louise Trotter (CCO)
Products	Clothing Footwear Fragrances Housewares
Revenue	US$2.69 billion (2022)
Number of employees	8,500 (2019)
Parent	Maus Frères

Lacoste S.A. is a famous French fashion company. It was started in 1933 by tennis player René Lacoste and businessman André Gillier. Lacoste sells many things like clothing, footwear, sports clothes, glasses, leather goods, perfume, towels, and watches.

The company is well-known for its green crocodile logo. René Lacoste, the founder, was nicknamed "the Crocodile" by the American press. This happened after he made a bet about winning a tennis match. French fans later called him "the Crocodile" because he was very tough on the tennis court. In November 2012, a Swiss family group called Maus Frères bought Lacoste.

The Story of Lacoste: From Tennis to Fashion

René Lacoste founded La Chemise Lacoste in 1933 with André Gillier.

René Lacoste started his company, La Chemise Lacoste, in 1933. He partnered with André Gillier, who owned a large French knitwear company. They began making a new kind of tennis shirt that René Lacoste had designed. This shirt had the famous crocodile logo sewn onto the chest. Lacoste says this was the first time a brand name appeared on the outside of clothes.

In the 1950s, a company called Izod made Lacoste clothes under a special agreement for sale in the US. This partnership ended in 1993. After that, Lacoste took back the rights to sell its own shirts in the U.S. In 1977, Le Tigre Clothing was created to compete with Lacoste in the US. They sold similar clothes but used a tiger logo instead of a crocodile.

Modernizing the Brand

Later, French designer Christophe Lemaire was hired to make Lacoste look more modern and fancy. By 2005, nearly 50 million Lacoste products were sold in over 110 countries. The brand became more visible because of deals with tennis players. These included Andy Roddick, John Isner, Richard Gasquet, and Stanislas Wawrinka.

Lacoste also became more popular in the golf world. Golfers like José María Olazábal and Colin Montgomerie wore Lacoste shirts in tournaments. In 2005, Bernard Lacoste became ill and passed the company presidency to his brother, Michel Lacoste. Bernard died in 2006.

A Lacoste retail store in Delaware, United States.

Lacoste allows other companies to use its brand name. For example, Pentland Group has the right to make Lacoste shoes. Coty Inc. used to make Lacoste perfumes, but this changed in late 2022. Interparfums now has a 15-year agreement to launch new Lacoste perfumes starting in 2024.

In June 2007, Lacoste launched its online store for the U.S. market. In 2009, actor Hayden Christensen became the face of their Challenge perfume for men. In September 2010, Felipe Oliveira Baptista took over as the creative manager for Lacoste.

The René Lacoste Foundation is a program that helps children play sports in school. In March 2016, the company opened a new main store in Budapest.

New Faces of Lacoste

In 2017, tennis star Novak Djokovic became a brand ambassador for Lacoste. He was even called "the new crocodile." This deal included a five-year contract and appearances in ads. It was later extended for three more years.

In September 2019, Lacoste chose Chinese singer and actor Z.Tao as their spokesperson for Asia Pacific. This was the first time they had someone represent the brand in that region. Lacoste also worked with Supreme in 2017, 2018, and 2019. They released special collections of co-branded clothes.

In 2018, Louise Trotter became the creative director of Lacoste. She left her role in January 2023. In 2023, Pelagia Kolotouros became the creative design director. In December of that year, tennis player Arthur Fils became a brand ambassador. In 2024, Pierre Niney and Wang Yibo also became global ambassadors for Lacoste.

Managing the Lacoste Brand

A Lacoste dress.

In the early 1950s, Bernard Lacoste worked with David Crystal, who owned Izod. They made Izod Lacoste clothing together. In the 1970s and 1980s, these shirts were very popular with teenagers. They often just called them "Izod" shirts.

Even though this partnership made a lot of money, Izod Lacoste's parent company had many debts. When they tried to separate Izod and Lacoste to earn more money, it didn't fix the debt. So, Crystal sold his part of Lacoste back to the French company. Izod was then sold to Van Heusen.

Around 2000, Lacoste started to take more control of its brand name and logo. They hired a new fashion designer, Christophe Lemaire. Now, Lacoste has returned to being a top brand, like it was before some problems in the 1990s.

Logo Disputes

Lacoste had a long disagreement about its logo with a company from Hong Kong called Crocodile Garments. Lacoste's crocodile logo faced right, while Crocodile Garments' logo faced left. Lacoste tried to stop Crocodile Garments from registering its logo in China in the 1990s. They eventually reached an agreement. As part of the deal, Crocodile Garments changed its logo. Their new crocodile has scalier skin, bigger eyes, and a tail that points up.

Lacoste also had a 20-year legal fight over its logo with Singapore’s Crocodile International. In November 2023, the Supreme Court of the Philippines decided that the two crocodile logos were not confusingly similar. The court ruled in favor of Crocodile International. It said there was no proof of fraud or public confusion, and it supported the idea of a free market.

Lacoste in Sports: Sponsorships

Lacoste is well-known for supporting athletes, especially in tennis and golf.

Tennis Sponsorships

Tennis superstar Novak Djokovic, who has won many major tournaments while sponsored by Lacoste.

Lacoste sponsors many tennis events and players around the world.

Tennis Events

Professional Tennis Players

Retired Tennis Players

Golf Sponsorships

Where to Buy Lacoste: Retailers

A Lacoste store in Aventura, Florida.

Lacoste has many of its own stores around the world. You can also find Lacoste products inside big department stores. In the United Kingdom, you can buy Lacoste at shops like JD Sports and John Lewis & Partners. In the United States, stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom, and Macy's sell Lacoste. In Canada, it's sold at Harry Rosen and Hudson's Bay. In Australia, you can find it at David Jones and Myer.

Cool Collaborations: Partnerships

A display inside the Lacoste store located in Fifth Avenue, New York.

In March 2022, Lacoste teamed up with Mojang Studios, the creators of Minecraft. They made a new line of clothes called Lacoste x Minecraft. The famous crocodile logo became pixelated for this collection. You can find different versions of the pixelated crocodile on polos, hoodies, and T-shirts.

See also

• Croc O' Shirt
• Crocodile Garments
• Izod
• Izod Lacoste
• Lacoste Essential (fragrance)
• Fred Perry
• Sergio Tacchini