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Lacoste
Lacoste S.A. (/ləˈkɔːst, -ˈkɒst/; French: [lakɔst]) is a French designer sports fashion company, founded in 1933 by tennis player René Lacoste, and entrepreneur André Gillier. It sells clothing, footwear, sportswear, eyewear, leather goods, perfume, towels and watches. The company is globally recognised by its signature green crocodile logo.
In November 2012, Lacoste was bought outright by Swiss family held group Maus Frères.
In 1923, an American journalist from Boston began to nickname 19-year-old tennis prodigy René Lacoste, "the Crocodile", as to reflect his ferocious on-court determination whilst subtly referring to an unusual bet that Lacoste made to his team captain Allan Muhr, that he must buy him a crocodile-skinned suitcase if he wins the next match.
The bet was lost but the nickname stayed, and in 1927 American stylist Robert George depicted drawings and sketches of crocodiles to his friend Lacoste, who then embroidered one of them to his white blazer that he wore before every match.
It's in 1933 that Lacoste began to brand clothing as La Chemise Lacoste with André Gillier, the owner and president of the largest French knitwear manufacturing firm at the time. They began to produce the revolutionary tennis shirt Lacoste had designed and worn on the tennis courts, with the crocodile logo embroidered on the chest. The company claims this as the first example of a brand appearing on a sport clothing.
Starting in the 1950s, Izod produced clothing known as Izod Lacoste under exclusive license for sale in the U.S. market. The partnership ended in 1993 when Lacoste regained control of its U.S. rights to market its own brand. In 1977, Le Tigre was founded in an attempt to directly compete with Lacoste in the U.S. market, selling a similar array of clothing, but featuring a tiger in place of the signature Lacoste crocodile.
In 2001, French designer Christophe Lemaire was hired to create a more modern, upscale look at Lacoste. In 2005, almost 50 million Lacoste products were sold in over 110 countries. Its visibility has increased due to the contracts between Lacoste and several tennis players, including former American tennis players Andy Roddick and John Isner, French veteran Richard Gasquet, and Swiss Olympic gold medalist Stanislas Wawrinka. Lacoste had also begun to increase its presence in the golf world, where noted two-time Masters Tournament champion José María Olazábal and Scottish golfer Colin Montgomerie have been seen sporting Lacoste shirts in tournaments.
Bernard Lacoste became seriously ill in early 2005, which led him to transfer the presidency of Lacoste to his younger brother and closest collaborator for many years, Michel Lacoste. Bernard died in Paris on 21 March 2006.
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Lacoste
Lacoste S.A. (/ləˈkɔːst, -ˈkɒst/; French: [lakɔst]) is a French designer sports fashion company, founded in 1933 by tennis player René Lacoste, and entrepreneur André Gillier. It sells clothing, footwear, sportswear, eyewear, leather goods, perfume, towels and watches. The company is globally recognised by its signature green crocodile logo.
In November 2012, Lacoste was bought outright by Swiss family held group Maus Frères.
In 1923, an American journalist from Boston began to nickname 19-year-old tennis prodigy René Lacoste, "the Crocodile", as to reflect his ferocious on-court determination whilst subtly referring to an unusual bet that Lacoste made to his team captain Allan Muhr, that he must buy him a crocodile-skinned suitcase if he wins the next match.
The bet was lost but the nickname stayed, and in 1927 American stylist Robert George depicted drawings and sketches of crocodiles to his friend Lacoste, who then embroidered one of them to his white blazer that he wore before every match.
It's in 1933 that Lacoste began to brand clothing as La Chemise Lacoste with André Gillier, the owner and president of the largest French knitwear manufacturing firm at the time. They began to produce the revolutionary tennis shirt Lacoste had designed and worn on the tennis courts, with the crocodile logo embroidered on the chest. The company claims this as the first example of a brand appearing on a sport clothing.
Starting in the 1950s, Izod produced clothing known as Izod Lacoste under exclusive license for sale in the U.S. market. The partnership ended in 1993 when Lacoste regained control of its U.S. rights to market its own brand. In 1977, Le Tigre was founded in an attempt to directly compete with Lacoste in the U.S. market, selling a similar array of clothing, but featuring a tiger in place of the signature Lacoste crocodile.
In 2001, French designer Christophe Lemaire was hired to create a more modern, upscale look at Lacoste. In 2005, almost 50 million Lacoste products were sold in over 110 countries. Its visibility has increased due to the contracts between Lacoste and several tennis players, including former American tennis players Andy Roddick and John Isner, French veteran Richard Gasquet, and Swiss Olympic gold medalist Stanislas Wawrinka. Lacoste had also begun to increase its presence in the golf world, where noted two-time Masters Tournament champion José María Olazábal and Scottish golfer Colin Montgomerie have been seen sporting Lacoste shirts in tournaments.
Bernard Lacoste became seriously ill in early 2005, which led him to transfer the presidency of Lacoste to his younger brother and closest collaborator for many years, Michel Lacoste. Bernard died in Paris on 21 March 2006.