PARIS — Bernard Lacoste, who for more than four decades has guided the global expansion of the Lacoste sportswear brand, is stepping down as chairman and chief executive officer of the firm for health reasons.
Michel Lacoste, 61, his brother, succeeds him as chairman and ceo, according to the company.
A spokeswoman for the Paris-based firm said Lacoste was “feeling better” after a recent downturn in his health, but that the gregarious and well-liked executive thought it most prudent to resign his daily duties at the Paris-based firm.
The board has named Lacoste, 74, as honorary chairman.
Meanwhile, the board reinforced its executive structure by naming Jean-Claude Fauvet and Marc Laurnet as senior executive vice presidents.
Lacoste, the son of tennis legend Rene Lacoste, who founded the company and its famous crocodile insignia, has built the label into one of the world’s most recognized sportswear brands.
He stayed true to his father’s vision of French sophistication and elegance, while extending the brand to include women’s and children’s clothes, as well as scents and shoes.
He also brought fashion to the label, introducing, for instance, a wide range of color to the Lacoste piqué polo shirts, while piloting retail expansion of the brand, starting with the opening of the first Lacoste boutique, in Paris, in 1981.
In 1999, he consolidated the brand’s licensing structure by inking a worldwide licensing agreement with Devanlay for all Lacoste clothing.
A year later, French designer Christophe Lamaire was appointed artistic director, and his subtle tweaking of the brand renewed its style credentials with a younger crowd.
More than 42 million Lacoste-branded articles were sold in the world last year, generating wholesale sales of more than 1.1 billion euros, or $1.37 billion.