Ralph Lauren has, once again, turned timeless style into a pretty sweet paycheck.
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Lauren, who is executive chairman and chief creative officer at Ralph Lauren Corp., received a $19.7 million compensation package in fiscal 2024, an increase of 7.8 percent from the year before, according to the company’s proxy statement filed with regulators. That makes him one of the highest–paid executives in fashion.
As is often the case, the biggest portion of Lauren’s paycheck came in the form of stock awards, valued at $11 million as of the grant date, linking executive compensation with the fortunes of other shareholders. He also received incentive pay of $6.7 million and a salary of $1.8 million.
Lauren owns 474,475 shares of the company’s Class A stock and all of its Class B stock, or 21.9 million shares. Together, those holdings give the founder control over 84.5 percent of the company’s voting rights, giving him the sway to pick the board and make other key corporate decisions.
While Lauren and his family control the company, they did cash out some of their holdings this spring. The Lauren Family LLC converted 3 million Class B shares into Class A shares and sold them for $177.15 each in early March, raising a total of more than $531 million.
But the company’s strategy remains consistent and is being executed by Patrice Louvet, president and chief executive officer.
Louvet’s compensation last year increased 14.9 percent to $16.6 million. The CEO’s take included $10.7 million in stock awards, $4.5 million in incentive pay and $1.4 million in salary.
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“This year, we continued to focus on our ambition to be the world’s leading luxury lifestyle company, making meaningful progress on our Next Great Chapter: Accelerate plan,” said Lauren and Louvet in a letter to shareholders.
The company’s strategy has it focusing on elevating the brand, driving core products and winning in key cities, while also building on its tech base.
“We’ve invested in best-in-class digital technology and analytics, including meaningful progress in how we leverage artificial intelligence and data science to support our employees and build personalized experiences for our consumers,” the letter said.
“As we look ahead, we are confident that our plan, with its diverse and flexible strategic choices, is relevant as ever in today’s environment,” Lauren and Louvet said.
In the fourth quarter ended March 30, the company’s income increased 180 percent to $90.7 million, boosted by lower cotton prices. Revenues rose 1.8 percent to $1.57 billion as comparable sales in the direct-to-consumer business advanced by 6 percent.
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