| By :
Paul Wise
Lacoste Luxury Watches harkens back to the glories of Roaring Twenties French tennis sensation René Lacoste, whose fans gave him the nickname of "crocodile" for his on-court pugnacity.* Thus it is that the company logo bears the famous Lacoste crocodile** on its products, the most famous of which are tennis shirts designed by René Lacoste himself. The Designer Watches by Lacoste are a much later addition to the company's catalog, debuting in the 1980s with an ambitious product expansion program that also saw perfumes, sunglasses, and various leather goods sold under the famous label. So popular has the crocodile image become that it is one of the most recognizable brands in the world. Unfortunately, what began as specialty apparel came to be diluted through a worldwide licensing program that, while earning the company riches, also saw the steady decline in cachet as the crocodile logo became ubiquitous. Thus it is that Devanlay owns exclusive global rights to Lacoste clothing while Procter & Gamble holds those over Lacoste fragrances and Samsonite has bags, for example. The Deisgner Watches of Lacoste were part of the company's effort to expand into new businesses under the leadership of chairmen Bernard and Michel Lacoste, under whom a precipitous growth was begun and has been maintained, respectively. This strategy also saw an across-the-board design overhaul with the installation of new talent that resulted in a more modern and upscale look. Previously, due to the aforementioned brand dilution, Lacoste Luxury Watches and products had acquired an ordinary everyday feeling in the minds of many consumers. Ironically, most Lacoste Luxury Watches are priced rather modestly, typically retailing for a few hundred dollars in American middle class outlets like Macy's. Available in a variety of youthful styles, they seem destined to continue the label's preppy image as fashions for the young and well-off. These colorful wristwatches probably make great gifts for those high school students who aspire to the kind of clean-cut urbanity epitomized by current spokesmodel Hayden Christensen of Star Wars prequel fame. * There exists a more colorful account for the name: American newspapers of the time reported that a bet was made over a critical match in which the prize was a crocodile-skin suitcase, with a friend embroidering a crocodile image over the blazer worn on-court. ** It is disputed whether the image represents a crocodile or an alligator. Bernard Lacoste, the late son of René Lacoste, has stated that it is "definitely an alligator in America, while it's a crocodile in France."
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