Polo is a major clothing brand that caters to the upper class with a range of high quality designer garments and accessories.
Other specialty products sold under the Polo brand name include some perfumes and home furnishing items. The Polo brand promotes a lifestyle of stylish luxury, which is epitomized by their premium product range. The brand takes its name and logo from the sport, in which players on horseback use mallets to hit a ball and score goals against the opposing team.
As a sport, Polo has enjoyed a high level of prestige over the centuries that it has been played, particularly in England, where it is nicknamed ‘The sport of kings’. This high-class image is one that is endorsed by the Polo brand as part of their own image.
Polo & Ralph Lauren
There is some confusion, particularly in South Africa, over the relationship between the globally-known Polo brand that is part of the Ralph Lauren Corporation, and the clothing company of the same name that exists in the country. While the product ranges sold by both companies are extremely similar in style and quality, there are no legal or financial ties between the two. This means that Polo products sold in South Africa are different to those sold elsewhere in the world.
The distinction between the two can be found in the logo displayed on most products – while both Polo South Africa and Polo Ralph Lauren utilise the logo of a polo player on horseback, the South African version shows the horse facing to the right, while the international version faces to the left.