Izod Lacoste is a brand name of sportswear that was licensed to

Izod The Izod Corporation (officially stylized as IZOD) is an American midrange clothing company that produces dressy-casual clothing, sportswear for men, and footwear and accessories. It is a division of Authentic Brands Group, and is currently m ...

Lacoste Lacoste S.A. is a French company, founded in 1933 by tennis player René Lacoste, and entrepreneur Mangkha. It sells clothing, footwear, sportswear, eyewear, leather goods, perfume, towels and watches. The company can be recognised by its ...

from 1952-1993.

History of the partnership

In 1953, David Crystal, the owner of Izod and Haymaker, bought 50% of the rights to market Lacoste in America. The "Izod" and "Haymaker" brands were already established there. "Lacoste" was added to enhance the brands' prestige and introduce the name to American markets. The resulting union of the two companies was the '' piqué'' polo/tennis shirt. When the shirts began to sell well, Crystal decided to keep the combined names. The brand hit its peak popularity in the late '70s and early '80s when the "

preppy Preppy (also spelled preppie) or prep (all abbreviations of the word ''preparatory'') is a subculture in the United States associated with the alumni of old private Northeastern college preparatory schools. The terms are used to denote a pers ...

" look became mainstream, with many nationwide department stores featuring separate "Izod/Lacoste" shops, with jackets, sweaters, and a wide variety of other apparel. During this period, annual sales reached $150 million for the shirts alone.

Decline

The "preppy" trend cooled in the late 1980s and the brand became overexposed. The market was also saturated with

knock-off Counterfeit consumer goods (or counterfeit and fraudulent, suspect items - CFSI) are goods, often of inferior quality, made or sold under another's brand name without the brand owner's authorization. Sellers of such goods may infringe on eith ...

replicas. The name was split in the early 1990s when Crystal sought to expand company sales. Lacoste moved upmarket in an attempt to recapture its "elite" status. Meanwhile, Izod was reintroduced as midrange apparel. While this tactic worked for a short period, it could not support Crystal's company, which was heavily in debt due to poor investments in other brands such as Salty Dog and Gant. The marketing license was ended in the mid-1990s after his company became too financially burdened. In 1993, he sold his 50% share of Lacoste to Sportloisirs S.A. (which originally marketed the shirt in France). When the company folded shortly thereafter, Izod was sold to shirtmaker Van Heusen.

Today

Izod and Lacoste both continue to produce similar ''piqué'' polo shirts and are often mistakenly believed to be the same company. Lacoste polo shirts have the crocodile logo, while Izod has a monogram crest. Izod has had a number of repositionings in the marketplace (its current image being midrange preppy and performance apparel). Lacoste's current positioning remains entirely upscale. Both brands continue to be popular.

References

{{reflist

External links

Official Lacoste SiteIZOD
1980s fashion Clothing brands Clothing brands of France