拉爾夫勞倫創始人辭任公司CEO
Ralph Lauren, the quintessential American designer who built a fashion emPire based on sweeping fantasies of country-club prep and the Wild West, is stepping down from his post as chief executive of the company.
拉爾夫·勞倫(Ralph Lauren)即將離任公司首席執行官一職。作爲一位被奉爲圭臬的美國時尚大師，他利用源於鄉村俱樂部和狂野西部服飾的奇思妙想，建立起了一個時裝帝國。
Taking the helm at Ralph Lauren will be Stefan Larsson, a former H&M executive and president of Old Navy, Gap’s down-market brand, which Mr. Larsson is credited with reviving. Old Navy has consistently been one of the few bright spots in Gap’s brand portfolio since Mr. Larsson, who is Swedish, took over in 2012, making him one of the most visible executives in retail.
拉爾夫·勞倫公司將由H&M前高管、Gap的下線品牌Old Navy前總裁斯蒂芬·拉爾森(Stefan Larsson)掌舵。他曾因重振Old Navy品牌而獲得讚譽。自來自瑞典的拉爾森2012年接手後，Old Navy一直是Gap旗下諸多品牌中爲數不多的一個亮點。這使拉爾森成了零售業最引人矚目的高管之一。
The change may be viewed as a move by Ralph Lauren to get its financial house in order. Earnings at the upscale apparel company, known for its Polo brand, have been pressured by a strong dollar and intense competition in the luxury space. Its latest quarterly earnings of $1.09 earnings a share topped analyst estimates, but revenue dipped 5.3 percent on a year-over-year basis. The company’s share price has slumped by almost half this year.
此番人事變動可能會被外界認爲是拉爾夫·勞倫爲整頓財務而採取的措施。在奢侈品行業，這家以其馬球(Polo)品牌而聞名的高端成衣公司的利潤受到了美元走強和激烈競爭的擠壓。其最近一個季度每股1.09美元的收益超出了分析人士的估計，但收入同比下降5.3%。今年，該公司的股價跌了近一半。
In an interview, Mr. Lauren said that he intended to remain active at the company he founded in new roles as executive chairman and chief creative officer. Mr. Larsson will report to Mr. Lauren, though the 75-year-old American designer characterized their relationship as a “partnership.”
接受採訪時，作爲公司創始人的勞倫表示，他打算以董事局主席和首席創意官的新角色，繼續積極參與公司事務。拉爾森將向勞倫彙報，不過這位75歲的美國設計師稱兩人是“合作”關係。
“When they start designing things I can’t understand, I’ll quit,” Mr. Lauren said, sitting with Mr. Larsson at his side at his offices on Madison Avenue, adorned with the rustic paraphernalia – a tin toy robot, cowboy boots – that Ralph Lauren’s stores have come to be known for.
“當他們開始設計我理解不了的東西時，我會退出，”勞倫在位於麥迪遜大街的辦公室裏說。拉爾森就坐在他旁邊。辦公室裏裝飾着各種鄉村風格的物品——一個錫制機器人玩具，牛仔靴——一如拉爾夫·勞倫的各家門店。
“But I don’t feel like I’m stepping back now,” Mr. Lauren said.
“但我不想現在就退居幕後，”勞倫說。
Still, Mr. Larsson’s appointment is the start of a succession at one of America’s best-known fashion houses, which, together with the likes of Donna Karan and Calvin Klein, helped put American style on the map.
但拉爾森的任命依然是拉爾夫·勞倫公司交班的開始。作爲美國最有名的時裝公司之一，拉爾夫·勞倫與唐娜·卡蘭(Donna Karan)和卡爾文·克萊因(Calvin Klein)一起，幫助把美式風格發揚光大。
And it is the coming end of a golden era of American postwar designers: Ms. Karan stepped down from the helm of the house that bears her name earlier this year; Mr. Klein stepped away from his namesake company in 2002.
眼下，美國戰後設計師的黃金時代即將結束：今年早些時候，卡蘭辭去了以自己名字命名的公司的掌舵人職位；2002年，克萊因離開了用自己的名字命名的公司
Mr. Larsson will take over as chief executive of the Ralph Lauren Corporation in November, and will also join the company’s board.
拉爾森將於11月接任拉爾夫·勞倫公司的首席執行官，並加入公司董事會。
“One of the biggest reasons for me to join is the opportunity to work side by side with someone like Ralph,” Mr. Larsson said.
“我加入最大的一個原因，是能獲得與拉爾夫這樣一個人共事的機會，”拉爾森說。
Most really successful fashion brands are stories of two partners — Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Berge, Calvin Klein and Barry Schwartz, Valentino and Giancarlo Giammetti, even Giorgio Armani and Sergio Galeotti (Mr. Armani took over as C.E.O. after he died).
大部分非常成功的時裝品牌都是兩個合夥人的故事，比如伊夫·聖洛朗(Yves Saint Laurent)和皮埃爾·布爾熱(Pierre Bergé)、卡爾文·克萊因和巴里·施瓦茨(Barry Schwartz)、瓦倫蒂諾(Valentino)和傑卡羅·吉米迪(Giancarlo Giammetti)甚至還有喬治·阿瑪尼(Giorgio Armani)和塞爾焦·加萊奧蒂（Sergio Galeotti，阿瑪尼在加萊奧蒂過世後接任首席執行官）。
Mr. Lauren was singular in that he did both jobs on his own. Having the dual skill set needed to have a great aesthetic vision and run a great company is rare. Previously, he had a “partner” in Roger Farah, former chief operating officer and president who retired a few years ago, and who was succeeded by Jackwyn Nemerov. But Mr. Lauren’s decision to award Mr. Larsson the title of chief executive indicates that he, at least, feels it is still important to separate the roles and have a professional manager running the brand.
勞倫特別的地方在於，他一人身兼二職，同時具備優秀的審美眼光，和管理一家大公司所需的技能，這種情況頗爲少見。之前，他有過一個“合夥人”，那就是幾年前退休的前首席運營官兼總裁羅格·法拉赫(Roger Farah)。後來，傑克溫·內梅羅夫(Jackwyn Nemerov)接替了法拉赫。但勞倫讓拉爾森擔任首席執行官這個決定表明，他至少覺得把兩個角色分開，有一個職業經理人管理品牌依然很重要。
Mr. Lauren’s most recent show at New York Fashion week was an ode to Americans in Biarritz, with his signature perfect leather tailoring, blue and white evening gowns, and stars in the front row (Jessica Chastain, Julianne Moore). But his brand is a typical luxury pyramid structure ( the model for both Calvin Klein and Michael Kors), with luxury at the pinnacle casting an aspirational halo over the more accessible Polo Ralph Lauren line (also now shown at New York Fashion Week), and factory stores below that form the bulk of the profits.
勞倫最近在紐約時裝週上的那場秀，是一首唱給比亞里茨的美國人的頌歌。秀場上能看到他那標誌性的完美皮革剪裁、藍色和白色晚禮服以及坐在前排的明星（傑西卡·查斯坦[Jessica Chastain]和朱麗安·摩爾[Julianne Moore]）。他創立的這個品牌是一種典型的奢侈品金字塔結構（卡爾文·克萊因和邁克·高仕[Michael Kors]也採用了這種模式），位於塔尖的奢侈品投下了一圈誘人的光環，在這之下的是消費者更負擔得起的拉爾夫·勞倫馬球男裝[Polo Ralph Lauren]，而公司的大部分利潤則來自位於金字塔底部的工廠店。
Given Mr. Larsson’s track record in “fast fashion,” the question is whether the company, which has invested in bolstering its luxury image, will now take a different tack. Recent moves at the company, like separating out its luxury business, hiring the luxury executive Valerie Hermann and opening a lavish private members’ club in Milan, had suggested a stronger focus on luxury at the apparel company.
考慮到拉爾森在“快時尚”領域的表現，現在的問題是，已經投資增強其奢侈品牌形象的該公司，是否會改弦更張。該公司最近的舉動，如剝離奢侈品業務、僱傭奢飾品高管瓦萊麗·赫爾曼(Valerie Hermann)以及在米蘭開設一家奢華的私人會員制俱樂部，一度表明這家成衣公司增強了對奢侈品的重視。
Mr. Larsson has made his name in budget-conscious mass-retailing, first at H&M and then at Old Navy. Though even at those mass brands, Mr. Larsson’s success, experts say, has been built on fostering a level of attention to design that sellers of low-end, family-oriented apparel had previously not put into their wares.
先後任職於H&M和Old Navy的拉爾森，已在預算意識強烈的大衆零售業贏得了口碑。但專家表示，即便是在那些大衆品牌，拉爾森成功的基礎，也是前所未有地爲兩個品牌面向家庭的低端服飾在一定程度上注入對設計的關注。
