Ralph Lauren CEO Talks about Metaverse

CEO of premium lifestyle retailer Ralph Lauren Corp. (RL), Patrice Louvet said that the company was actively seeking ways to attract younger consumers within the metaverse.

Louvet was speaking at the at the National Retail Federation’s annual conference. Meanwhile, RL shares closed down 2.2% at $114.84 on January 14.

Metaverse Attracts Younger Consumers

According to the Louvet, since the company is in the dreams business and not fashion per se, there are a lot of similarities between the metaverse and Ralph’s vision. Louvet mentioned the RL virtual experience created for consumers enables them to dress their avatars in their favorite Ralph Lauren apparel.

RL is already participating in the metaverse platform Zepeto and gaming site Roblox Corp. (RBLX), and sees massive revenue growth opportunities from them. After signing on to Zepeto, RL sold more than 100,000 units in a short span.

Moreover, Louvet said that the company was even considering selling non-fungible tokens (NFT), which they are yet to venture into. The CEO also stated the company’s intent to buy real estate in the digital space.

As the metaverse hype catches on, Louvet believes the space belongs more to the younger audiences as they can relate more easily to the technological advances. As a result, he believes it’s the best place to attract young consumers to their products.

Through its digital platforms, the company has already entered the space with virtual store visits, which include digital clothes trial rooms, or even having coffee at their virtual Madison Avenue store.

CEO Comments

Commenting on the metaverse, Louvet said, “We believe in the opportunities around this new digital world and the metaverse… One of our strategies is to get a new generation and a new generation there. So, we have to be there.”

Louvet added, “Ralph created different worlds. You can be shown in Colorado. You can be shown in Montauk. We think there is great consistency between our philosophy and what the metaverse has to offer.”

On introducing NFT’s, Louvet said, “we have a lot of conversations about how to do it well in a way that is related to what is important to us and how we are going to project it… We don’t just want to follow the trend. We want to do it in a way that makes sense and is aligned with our strategy and branding.”

Consensus View

The Wall Street community is cautiously optimistic about the stock with a Moderate Buy consensus rating based on 4 Buys, 3 Holds, and 1 Sell. The average Ralph Lauren price target of $133.88 implies 16.6% upside potential to current levels. Shares have gained 9% over the past year.

Stock Investors

According to TipRanks’ Stock Investors tool, investor sentiment is currently Very Positive on Ralph Lauren, with 7.5% of portfolios tracked by TipRanks increasing their exposure to RL stock in the past 7 days.

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