Ralph Lauren’s company went public on the New York Stock Exchange in 1997.
The company became publicly traded on June 12, 1997. At the time, it was known as Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation, reflecting the importance of the Polo brand that Lauren had launched in menswear in 1968. The company later adopted the Ralph Lauren Corporation name.
Lauren’s business had grown substantially before the listing. He began in 1967 with a line of neckties while working for the manufacturer Beau Brummell, then expanded into complete menswear, women’s clothing, fragrances, home furnishings and retail stores. Going public gave the company access to public-market capital while preserving Ralph Lauren’s central creative influence.
The year is sometimes confused with 1995 because Purple Label entered the company’s luxury portfolio around that period, or with 2000, when Ralph Lauren expanded its online presence through polo.com and RL Media. Neither event marks the NYSE listing. The company trades under the ticker symbol RL, a shortened form of the Ralph Lauren name.