$656 million. The company’s gross profit was $1.2 billion, up from $1 billion, with a gross margin of 72.3 per cent. Retail experts agreed that Ralph Lauren is benefiting from its status as an accessible luxury brand and its elevated brand image.  As Global Data’s managing director Neil Saunders pointed out to Inside Retail, Ralph Lauren’s positive trading momentum largely comes as a result of the overall luxury fashion slowdown.  Saunders explained that the higher price points of many luxury labels have driven consumers towards more accessible brands that retain a premium positioning, such as Ralph Lauren or the Gen Z favourite handbag brand Coach. Another area where Ralph Lauren is also doing well is “bringing younger consumers on-side,” Saunders remarked.  “Its marketing and product set have both helped to grow penetration and spend among younger cohorts. A lot of work has gone into making the Ralph Lauren brand more disciplined over the past five or so years. It is now paying dividends.” How Ralph Lauren rebuilt its luxury image Marie Driscoll, a chartered financial analyst and a professor at Parsons, The New School and the Fashion Institute of Technology, explained that Ralph Lauren has been “outperforming the industry and capturing share with its elevated lifestyle positioning”. In the past year, Driscoll pointed out that the brand has focused less on promotional activity and other discounting strategies, while also elevating products across its labels.  “Elevating product in tandem with higher prices is working at Ralph Lauren, improving the value equation for shoppers,” said Driscoll.   This is reflected in the brand’s direct-to-consumer comps, which were up 13 per cent at a global level, and 12 per cent in North America, relative to the average unit retail growth of 12 per cent. “Ralph Lauren’s value proposition is resonating with consumers globally across the Lauren, Polo and Collection lines and its high-potential categories (women’s apparel, outerwear and handbags) with 20 per cent YoY sales growth,” Driscoll said. “The company is executing on three growth pillars: brand elevation, a focus on core, which comprises 70 per cent of sales, and high-potential categories. Not to mention, 30 key global city centers, with 24 new owned and partnered store openings,” she added. Across its brands, Ralph Lauren has attracted 1.4 million new customers, who are more likely to be female, wealthy and young. The brand has also benefitted from its non-apparel related moves, such as its third-space store concept, Ralph’s Coffee.  Driscoll said there is “no doubt” that the aesthetic coffee shop with Ralph Lauren-themed coffee products played a part in driving store traffic and brand awareness. “Ralph Lauren, the man and the team he has assembled in the past 60 years, truly understand and are meeting the needs of consumer aspirations and dreams,” she said.  Tapping into great storytelling opportunities In addition to stepping away from discounting and experiential brand moments, Ralph Lauren has also benefited culturally-relevant brand storytelling moments over the past few years.  This can be seen through the incredible customer feedback, both in terms of product sell-through and social commentary, from its recently launched Oak Bluffs collection.  On July 24, Polo Ralph Lauren released a limited-edition collection inspired by Oak Bluffs, a coastal area on Martha’s Vineyard that has been enjoyed by Black communities for over a century.  The collection was built upon Ralph Lauren’s partnerships with several historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), including Morehouse College and Spelman College. It included several pieces that spoke to Ralph Lauren’s appreciation for Americana while including specific references to clothing worn by generations of Oak Bluffs residents. It even included items repping Morehouse and Spelman’s mascots, the Maroon Tiger and the Jaguar, respectively. In light of the recent American Eagle campaign controversy, many retail and brand strategists commended Ralph Lauren for tapping into its heritage style while being culturally respectful and collaborative with an outside group.  “Simply put: The Ralph Lauren campaign is everything American Eagle’s wasn’t. It’s thoughtful, community-driven, and historically informed. Both campaigns were about American heritage, but they took fundamentally different approaches,” wrote Safaniya Stevenson, a cultural analyst and market advisor with Kulfur Group, in a LinkedIn post titled, “The Tale of Two American Dreams in Jeans”.  Where American Eagle largely tried to tap into Sydney Sweeney’s star power, Stevenson explained that Ralph Lauren thoughtfully and respectfully partnered with Black institutions, hired Black creatives and supported Black-owned businesses to highlight Oak Bluffs’ role as a refuge from segregation and discrimination through its collection.  “The reception tells the story,” Stevenson stated, “Ralph Lauren’s campaign was celebrated across fashion and cultural media as a thoughtful exploration of American identity. “In 2025, marketing requires more than good intentions and celebrity star power. It demands cultural competence, community partnership and historical awareness.”, which Ralph Lauren appears to understand this, which is helping the brand’s overall image.  Can Ralph Lauren maintain its growth trajectory? During the current financial year, Ralph Lauren expects its revenue to increase by low to mid-single digits, with its operating margin seeing an expansion of between 40 and 60 basis points.  Saunders warned that “looking ahead, sales growth may not be as toppy as this quarter.” “However, we expect continued uplifts and further market share gains in the year ahead [as] consumers remain willing to pay a modest premium for products that offer both quality and distinctiveness.” Similarly, Driscoll forecasted that, tariffs aside, Ralph Lauren is right on track to maintaining steady sales growth.  “Management is keenly attuned to maintaining and improving the value equation it provides, the brand is firing on all cylinders with momentum likely to continue barring significant adverse exogenous events. The Ralph Lauren team is controlling the controllables, it’s the uncontrollable factors, such as tariffs and their potential impact on the basket of consumer goods, that could slow the company’s progress,” she concluded. Further reading: What brands can learn from American Eagle’s campaign controversy: PR experts.