Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation announced that it has bought out the 50% ownership interest of Ralph Lauren Media, LLC held by NBC-Lauren Media Holdings Inc (a subsidiary wholly owned by NBC Universal) and ValueVision Media Inc giving Polo full ownership of the Polo.com operation. The acquisition is a cash transaction of $175 million.
"Over the past seven years, we have enjoyed a strong partnership with both NBC and ValueVision which enabled us to expand the world of Ralph Lauren online. Together we have built a powerful presence that combines creativity and commerce in a virtual flagship store," said Ralph Lauren, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Polo Ralph Lauren. "We are excited about our complete ownership of Polo.com as we look to grow and elevate our e-commerce presence on a worldwide basis."
"This is a very successful and growing business that has become an important part of our domestic retail shopping experience. This transaction allows us to fully integrate the operations of Polo.com into our existing organization and leverage our operational expertise to maximize the online sales performance and financial contribution to our company," said Roger Farah, Polo's President and Chief Operating Officer.
"In addition, we believe there are tremendous growth opportunities for Polo.com internationally. Today more than 30% of the traffic on Polo.com comes from international domains as consumers want to browse and experience the world of Ralph Lauren even though international shipping is not currently offered."
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