Internal
Strengths:
- Ralph Lauren Corporation’s strength is its credibility and legacy within the high fashion industry. As one of the most iconic American brands in history, Ralph Lauren Corporation has built a community over 50 years that trusts the quality, reputation, and commitment to timeless fashion given to customers.
- Ralph Lauren Corporation defines staple American culture through luxury fashion and is known for selling customized products for each customer.
- By establishing its brand identity over decades, Ralph Lauren Corporation has established its place in the fashion industry, especially in the American high-end luxury market.
Weaknesses:
- Ralph Lauren Corporation’s weakness is that it is rooted in the luxury category of the fashion industry, thus having a limited and exclusive audience that can afford its products.
- Ralph Lauren Corporation is also seen as “American” luxury, whereas some of its competitor luxury brands span cultures and continents more easily. By showcasing American culture, Ralph Lauren Corporation excludes a global audience that does not care to purchase products targeted towards one country/lifestyle.
- Although they have a general audience that likes and understands the brand, the typical audience that can purchase the items are those with a more considerable disposable income.
- Because of this, Ralph Lauren Corporation fails to approach a wide range of consumers who can actively purchase their products at a wide array of price points, ultimately limiting its audience.
External
Opportunities:
- Ralph Lauren Corporation has a chance to diversify its audience and products by finding a new approach to sustainability.
- Although the brand currently discusses its sustainability and ethical approaches, Ralph Lauren Corporation can showcase its new approach to sustainability by utilizing the materials that typically end up in a landfill or are incinerated for a 100% sustainable capsule collection.
- Partnering for this capsule collection will be American singer and 9-time Grammy winner Billie Eilish, an avid spokesperson and advocate for a sustainable future. Ralph Lauren Corporation collaborating with Billie Eilish, who is not only internationally known but also by a much younger/diverse audience than the brand might normally be considered by, for the “Birds of a Feather” capsule collection will not only showcase a new approach to sustainability within the fashion industry. Still, it will also diversify its audience to one that is younger and more committed to sustainability.
Threats:
- Ralph Lauren Corporation’s biggest threat is luxury brands with a vast sustainability history endorsed by celebrities like Stella McCartney and Reformation.
- Priced similarly or less than Ralph Lauren Corporation, these brands have been rooted in changing the fashion industry’s approach to sustainability for a longer period across many cultures and continents, leading customers to question Ralph Lauren Corporation’s approach over other brands.
- These industry threats have communicated their approach to sustainability as a core principle of their branding, which builds more credibility with customers passionate about sustainability.