When Team USA takes part in Friday’s parade of nations at the 2024 Paris Olympics’ opening ceremonies, Ralph Lauren Corp. will literally be joining in that celebration.
For the ninth time, the company will dress both the Olympic and Paralympic athletes for both the opening and closing ceremony parades as well as the flag bearers. Breaking from tradition, that global march of 10,500 athletes will take place not in a stadium, but on 100 boats along the river Seine.
As one of the few Olympic teams that does not receive governmental funding from its home country, Team USA relies on financial support from corporations like Ralph Lauren Corp. to help offset athletes’ training and travel expenses. Each sale of Olympic-related merchandise from the brand contributes to that. Open to all on-site and from afar, the extravaganza is expected to attract 1.5 billion viewers — whether that be spectators, TV watchers or livestreamers. Amid the athletes from 206 national Olympic teams and heads of state will be a strong showing of Ralph Lauren executives.
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First Lady Jill Biden gave the brand a boost upon arrival in Paris Thursday. She deplaned wearing a white Team USA Ralph Lauren bomber jacket over her purple suit and an aide carried a “FLOTUS” embossed garment bag and a Ralph Lauren tote bag among other luggage, according to a White House pool report. The man behind the namesake brand, Ralph Lauren, will not be traveling to Paris for the Summer Games, but his son David, the company’s chief branding and innovation officer, is there for a weeklong stay.
Stretching through Aug. 11, the XXXIII Olympiad is more than a branding exercise for the New York-based company, which has a deal with the U.S. Olympic Committee through 2028. Having first teamed up with the USOC for the 2008 Games in Beijing, Ralph Lauren’s commitment is more ingrained than selling patriotic products. En route to the airport earlier this week to fly to Paris in time for the opening ceremony, David Lauren explained why the partnership with the USOC is valuable on many fronts. ”It enables us to tell a story about America, our country and the world, and the dreams, that we believe in,” he said. “That helps us to sell product, but that also helps us to help people understand what Ralph Lauren is and what his beliefs and values are about our country, and our world.”
Far from just choosing tasteful red, white and blue clothes, the Olympic initiative involves designing, manufacturing, shipping and merchandising the clothes, as well as creating advertising, marketing and communications strategies. That undertaking requires hundreds of people who work collectively to see it through. “It is a tremendous honor, but it comes with tremendous work. But it’s worth it,” Lauren said. “We take this on because we’re fully committed to what Team USA represents and what a successful Olympics can look like, when we are a part of it.”
Through its “incredibly strong” branding, storytelling and opportunities to sell products, the American brand is helping Team USA compete, he said. For the Summer Games in Paris, Ralph Lauren has also created a line of Villagewear that is less formal than the parade uniforms for athletes to wear in the Olympic Village. And with the Paris 2024 motto of “Games Wide Open!” attendees and athletes alike are being encouraged to share social media content. Some American athletes took to TikTok to unpack their Ralph Lauren hauls to show off the swag bags of sportswear they have received to wear around the Olympic Village. More than 500 million Olympic-related posts are expected to happen during the 19-day competition.
The company expects to break records this year in terms of sales, sell-throughs and its abilities to fulfill commitments to the team, according to Lauren, who declined to pinpoint any figures.
In some ways, the company’s alliance with the USOC reflects how the Olympics has expanded in terms of its lineup of sports, audiences and media reach. Announcing its first partnership 16 years ago, Ralph Lauren noted how the TV audience was expected to be about four billion at the Summer Games in Beijing. In the end, three-and-a-half billion tuned in for that installment. This time around four billion TV viewers are being projected, according to the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs.
Visitors to the Ralph Lauren site will find digital footage of a few Olympians in action — airborne in gymnastics, fencing and skateboarding. The latter is one of four new sports debuting at the Summer Games with breaking, surfing and sport climbing being the others. But rather than singling out athletes or specific winning moments from the recent Olympics, David Lauren emphasized how the human component resonates with employees and consumers alike.
Highlighting how the company’s Olympic commitment is emotional, Lauren said part of that is due to being able to meet the athletes and learn about their lives. “When they tell you their stories, you’re front row before some of the greatest heroes. They have been up against the odds. They have persevered and pushed themselves,” he said.
He added, “Knowing what the athletes go through every day inspires us to do our jobs better. That makes us feel like we are part of Team USA and are helping to carry the torch for our team.”
Growing up, Lauren first got a glimpse of the Olympics through the two-time Olympic figure skater champion and TV commentator Dick Button, who lived near the Lauren family. Watching leading Olympic athletes in the ’70s and the early ’80s also registered with him, due to learning a little bit about their back stories and always finding them inspiring, he said. One favorite was the American speedskater Eric Heiden, who won all five speedskating events at the 1980 Winter Games, and set an Olympic record in each one. “For a while, I thought he was ‘The Flash’ — the guy from DC Comics, the fastest man on earth,” Lauren said. “The fact that someone can be so great just leaves you in awe. You see greatness for the first time — the Olympics is that moment. You see superhuman strength in real people.”
Ralph Lauren Corp. was first approached by a representative for the USOC about potentially refreshing Team USA’s look for the 2008 Games. There was a desire to re-invigorate the spirit of the Olympics from its heyday, Lauren said. “They said, ‘We want our athletes to walk on a global stage and to reflect the best of America, and to carry not just their athleticism, but the hopes and dreams of everyone. They calm the anxieties in the world. They bring peace to nations,’” Lauren recalled. “It was so inspiring and what we all dream the Olympics will be.”
As for whether the stakes are higher, given the current upheaval in different parts of the world, Lauren said, “The world is always dealing with some sort of tumult,” citing the Munich Summer Games in 1972 as an example when there was a terrorist attack on the Israeli Olympic team.
The Olympics can foster greater understanding when many viewers and followers will be seeing people from some other countries for the first time. Lauren said, “Most people are really wonderful. Perhaps that opens your mind to the idea that everyone in the world has an intention that is meant to help people and to do something that is spirited. When you see an athlete representing their country, you learn about their back stories, families and their struggles. There is a certain amount of empathy and connective tissue that is created amongst nations.”
Lauren will need to return to New York before the closing ceremony on Aug. 11 since his father will be having a fashion show in East Hampton, N.Y., on Sept. 5. Anticipating how the Olympic sports will be brought to life in Paris amid monumental settings, Lauren mentioned how beach volleyball will be played beneath the Eiffel Tower, and equestrian events will be held in the gardens of Versailles. “That will be pretty amazing to see some of the athletes that we are working with bring their competitive spirit to the coolest backdrops that you could imagine,” he said.
