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	Troyes, France
Number of locations	1,100 (2023)
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Didier Maus (Executive Chairman) Thierry Guibert (CEO) 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 items like clothing, footwear, sportswear, eyewear, and perfume. You can easily recognize their products by the green crocodile logo.

René Lacoste, the company's founder, was nicknamed "the Crocodile." The American press first gave him this name after he made a bet about winning a tennis match. Later, French fans also called him "the Crocodile" because he was very determined on the tennis court. In 2012, a Swiss family-owned group called Maus Frères bought Lacoste completely.

The Story of Lacoste

René Lacoste and André Gillier started their company, La Chemise Lacoste, in 1933. André Gillier owned a large French company that made knitted clothes. They began making a special tennis shirt that René Lacoste had designed. This shirt had the famous crocodile logo sewn onto its chest. Lacoste says this was the first time a brand name appeared on the outside of clothing.

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

Growing the Brand

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

Lacoste also started to become more known in the golf world. Famous golfers like José María Olazábal and Colin Montgomerie wore Lacoste shirts in tournaments. Bernard Lacoste, who led the company, became very ill in 2005. He passed the leadership to his younger brother, Michel Lacoste. Bernard died in Paris in March 2006.

A Lacoste retail store in Delaware, United States

Lacoste allows other companies to use its trademark. For a long time, Devanlay had the only worldwide license for Lacoste clothing. Today, Lacoste Polo Shirts are also made in Thailand and China under license. Pentland Group has the worldwide license to make Lacoste shoes. Coty Inc. has the worldwide license for fragrances. CEMALAC makes Lacoste bags and small leather items.

In June 2007, Lacoste launched its online store for the U.S. market. In 2009, actor Hayden Christensen became the face of the Challenge fragrance for men. In September 2010, Christophe Lemaire left his role. Felipe Oliveira Baptista took over as the creative manager of 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 on Fashion Street in Budapest.

New Ambassadors and Collaborations

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

In September 2019, Lacoste chose Chinese singer and actor Z.Tao as their brand spokesperson for Asia Pacific. This was the first time the brand appointed someone for that region. In 2017, 2018, and 2019, Lacoste worked with Supreme. They released a collection of co-branded clothing together.

In 2018, Louise Trotter became the creative director of Lacoste. She left her position in January 2023 after four years.

In late 2022, Lacoste signed a 15-year agreement with Interparfums. They plan to launch a new perfume line in 2024. This happened after their previous partnership with Coty Inc. ended.

In 2023, Pelagia Kolotouros became the creative design director of Lacoste. In December of the same year, Arthur Fils became a brand ambassador for Lacoste.

In 2024, Pierre Niney was named Lacoste's new brand ambassador. In the same year, Wang Yibo became the Global Ambassador of Lacoste. In June, Lacoste announced a new fragrance called Lacoste Original.

Managing the Lacoste Brand

Lacoste dress.

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

The partnership was successful, but Izod Lacoste's parent company had many debts. When attempts to separate Izod and Lacoste did not fix the debt, Crystal sold his half of Lacoste back to the French owners. Izod was then sold to Van Heusen.

However, starting in 2000, Lacoste began to take more control of its brand name and logo. They hired a new fashion designer, Christophe Lemaire. Now, Lacoste has returned to the high-end status it had before some brand management issues around 1990.

The Crocodile Logo Dispute

Lacoste was involved in a long argument over its logo with a sportswear company from Hong Kong called Crocodile Garments. At the time, Lacoste used a crocodile logo that faced right. This logo was registered in France in 1933. Crocodile Garments used a logo that faced left. Their logo was registered in various Asian countries in the 1940s and 1950s.

Lacoste tried to stop Crocodile Garments from registering its logo in China in the 1990s. The argument ended with an agreement. As part of the deal, Crocodile Garments agreed to change its logo. Their new crocodile now has scaly skin, bigger eyes, and a tail that points upwards.

Lacoste Sponsorships

Tennis Sponsorships

Tennis superstar Novak Djokovic, who has captured the most grand slams of any player under Lacoste

Lacoste sponsors many tennis events and players around the world.

Tennis Events

Professional Tennis Players

Lacoste sponsors many active professional tennis players.

Retired Tennis Players

Lacoste has also sponsored many famous tennis players who are now retired.

Golf Sponsorships

Lacoste also sponsors many professional golf players.

Where to Buy Lacoste

Lacoste store in Aventura, Florida, United States

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

Cool 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 created a whole new line of clothes called Lacoste x Minecraft. The famous crocodile logo became pixelated for this Minecraft clothing line. There are many different styles 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