End of an era for iconic luxury brand in South Africa
The iconic Polo clothing brand in South Africa is being acquired by the United States luxury apparel group, Ralph Lauren, which owns its own Polo clothing brand.
The Competition Commission has approved the proposed transaction where Ralph Lauren Corporation will acquire all the rights, titles and interests of the Polo brand owned by the South African LA Group.
The transaction will also see all the Polo Marks and LA Group Trademark Filings and related goodwill associated with the brand transferred to Ralph Lauren.
While the commission does not see the transaction raising any substantial competition issues in any market, it did impose some conditions related to public interest concerns.
To address these, the LA Group is prohibited from retrenching any permanent employees involved in the manufacture, distribution, and retail of Polo-branded products relevant to the assets being sold.
The tale of the Polo brand in South Africa is one of some controversy.
Ralph Lauren Polo and South African Polo are two different brands owned by two different companies and, until now, have not been affiliated with each other.
The Ralph Lauren’s Polo logo is a world-famous trademark with a mounted polo player and horse, which was registered in 1967.
However, a similar mark had been registered in South Africa in 1976, when Polo originated as an iconic men’s shirting brand founded by Gordon Joffe.
Along with Joffe, the brand was co-founded by two former Monatic executives, Ronnie Lange and Freddie Barnet, and Stuart Shub from Rex Trueform, along with other shareholders.
The retail stores were run by Joffe until his death in 2003. The LA Group acquired the ‘Polo and Pony’ trademark in 1998.
The similarities between Polo South Africa and Polo Ralph Lauren and others has been the subject of a few trademark legal cases over the decades.
While most South African consumers are likely unaware of the distinction, the reality is that the Polo brand sold in South Africa differs from the luxury Polo Ralph Lauren brand sold in international markets.
Ralph Lauren said that it has “consistently worked to protect and grow its brand around the world”, and the acquisition is part of the company’s ongoing efforts to increase public awareness globally about the Ralph Lauren brand and its products.
“Within its current scope of operations within South Africa and certain African countries, in which Ralph Lauren Corporation does not currently operate, LA Group will continue to sell its Polo-branded products by licensing these marks from Ralph Lauren Corporation,” it said.
The LA Group said it expects the deal to close in the next few weeks.
Polo vs Polo images
This article has been updated to reflect the orgins of Polo South Africa.
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