Ralph Lauren (RL) FY2026 results: revenue $8.1 billion, up 14.6% on the year

Ralph Lauren was founded in 1967 by Mr. Ralph Lauren and designs, markets and distributes luxury lifestyle products: apparel, handbags, footwear and accessories, fragrances, home and hospitality. The business is spread across geographies, North America, Europe and Asia among other regions, and across channels, retail, wholesale and licensing, so results do not rest on any single one. It sells directly to consumers through 594 retail stores, 644 concession-based shop-within-shops and its own digital commerce sites, wholesale to major department stores, specialty stores and third-party digital partners at approximately 9,500 doors worldwide, and through licensees, whose partners also operate 135 stores. The Lauren family has controlled the company since it was founded, and at 28 March 2026 Mr. Lauren or family-controlled entities held approximately 85% of the voting power. The financial year ends in late March.

The brands

Apparel covers men's, women's and children's clothing under Ralph Lauren Collection, Ralph Lauren Purple Label, Double RL, Polo Ralph Lauren, Lauren Ralph Lauren, Polo Sport, RLX Ralph Lauren, Polo Ralph Lauren Children and Chaps, among others. Handbags, footwear and accessories run across the same brand set and take in casual and dress shoes, boots, sneakers, sandals, eyewear, watches, fashion and fine jewellery, scarves, hats, gloves, umbrellas, luggage, small leather goods and belts. Fragrance is sold under labels including the Romance Collection and Ralph Collection for women and Ralph's Club and Purple Label for men, alongside home collections and a hospitality portfolio.

The segments

North America was approximately 41% of fiscal 2026 net revenues, covering retail through Ralph Lauren stores, outlet stores and the United States and Canadian digital commerce sites, and wholesale mainly to department stores and to a lesser extent specialty stores. Europe was approximately 31%, covering Europe and emerging markets through stores, outlets, concessions and digital commerce, with wholesale split between department and specialty stores depending on the country plus third-party digital and licensee partners. Asia was approximately 26%, covering Asia, Australia and New Zealand through the same retail formats, with wholesale to department stores and third-party digital and licensee partners. Other non-reportable segments were approximately 2%, mainly royalties from global licensing alliances. Approximately 59% of fiscal 2026 net revenues were earned outside the United States.

Licensing

Licensing combines the company's consumer insight, design and marketing with a partner's product or geographic capability. Partners generally contribute most of the product development cost, provide the operational infrastructure and own the inventory, and they pay royalties based on their sales. Product licences cover certain apparel categories, footwear, accessories, eyewear, fragrances and home furnishings, with partners including 5 Star Apparel for Chaps, Delta Galil in intimates and sleepwear, L'Oreal in fragrances, Luxottica in eyewear, Renfro in socks and hosiery and Visual Comfort in lighting.

Making the products

The company contracts manufacture to suppliers and owns no production facilities. Approximately 300 suppliers worldwide make its apparel, handbags, footwear and accessories and home products, with none of them providing more than 5% of total products by dollar value in fiscal 2026. A global sourcing organisation supervises those suppliers against the company's specifications, and a quality assurance team works with them before and during production, with quality control requirements, inspections and reviews. Production is diversified across countries and suppliers and directed towards countries with trade preferences to manage political, economic, social, environmental, trade and labour risk. The vast majority of products by value were made outside the United States in fiscal 2026, mainly in Asia, Europe and Latin America, with approximately 21% sourced from Vietnam, 16% from Cambodia and 11% from India.

Seasons and people

Retail sales are typically higher in the second and third fiscal quarters and wholesale sales in the second and fourth, driven by vacation travel, back-to-school and holiday shopping and by the timing of seasonal wholesale shipments. At 28 March 2026 the company had approximately 23,600 employees, approximately 15,600 full-time and 8,000 part-time, with approximately 9,400 in the United States and 14,200 in other countries.

From Ralph Lauren's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended 28 March 2026. The filing

Written from the 10-K filed 21 May 2026: read the full 10-K.