While one can find the Ralph Lauren store on Omotesando quite easily, there is another Ralph Lauren (a Polo by Ralph Lauren) shop nearby, this one in Cat St.
Literally a few blocks across the street from the Omotesando Store will take you to Polo by Ralph Lauren.
While there are numerous Ralph Lauren brands, Polo Ralph Lauren is the flagship brand that was founded in 1967 that kicked off Ralph Lauren to the world.
Not to be confused with Polo Sport, a Ralph Lauren brand launched in 1992 for active wear and fitness, Polo Ralph Lauren was Ralph Lauren’s complete line of sportswear and tailored clothing. In 2014, Women’s Polo was launched.
For the most part, customer service was excellent and there were a lot of things offered in Japan that I don’t find in the United States. Problem is that these are Japanese sizes. So, that makes things a bit difficult for those of us who are not from Japan and are muscular or bulky.
But that’s where it takes ingenuity and mixing and matching to work with your style.
As for prices, that’s another difference is that in America, too many brands like Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger and even. Michael Kors were being sold at discount stores. While great for the consumer on the budget, it can hurt a brand’s image.
According to a Business Insider article from January 2018:
Ralph Lauren CEO Patrice Louvet said in August that discounting was damaging to the brand and its profit margins. He said shoppers would only spend money on “exciting” apparel, and “exciting isn’t selling a generic product with more and more discounting.”
In Japan, Ralph Lauren is seen as a classy western brand. It shows in the stores they have in Tokyo, the clothes they offer and it’s a feeling that I once had for Ralph Lauren before it created all these multiple brands and trying to be a clothing brand for everyone. But Ralph Lauren at least had history and credibility beyond ads that were seen on men and women’s magazines. History and credibility that many other brands could only wish they had.
Consider this video from Ralph Lauren Japan:
It’s the image that I saw in Tokyo, Japan of Ralph Lauren that I grew up with. And to this day, I still wear Ralph Lauren.
But I do wish to see a recapturing. of that magic and allure that Ralph Lauren clothing was so well-known for.
