RALPH LAUREN PLEDGES $10 MILLION TO FIGHT CORONAVIRUS, STARTS PRODUCTION OF PROTECTIVE GEAR

As announced on March 26th in response to COVID-19, the Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation, formerly known as the Polo Ralph Lauren Foundation, is committing $10 million to help its teams, partners and communities impacted by the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation’s commitment of $10 million will provide financial grants through the Emergency Assistance Foundation for Ralph Lauren colleagues facing special circumstances like medical, elder care or childcare needs; contribute to the World Health Organization COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, a global effort supporting countries to prevent, detect and respond to the pandemic; and commit an inaugural gift to the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) / Vogue Fashion Fund for COVID-19 relief to support the American fashion community impacted by the pandemic.

In addition, the Ralph Lauren Corporation is starting the production of 250,000 masks and 25,000 isolation gowns for donation with its U.S. manufacturing partners.

The company has also taken action to mitigate risk and provide its teams with enhanced resources and support amid the COVID-19 pandemic, applying insights and learnings from its experience in China, which is now beginning to stabilize. As part of this, Ralph Lauren has directly enlisted a medical expert from WorldClinic, Inc., to help guide decision-making.

Measures implemented include imposing temporary closure of stores and distribution centers; a global freeze on business travel; deep cleanings and sanitization across retail, distribution, and corporate offices; and the activation of remote working across impacted corporate office locations. Additionally, Ralph Lauren teams are provided access to regularly updated resources, tools, and trainings on topics including wellness and remote working. Employees worldwide also have free access to employee assistance programs that provide legal, financial, parenting, elder care, childcare, and mental health support.

During the temporary closure of its North American and European distribution centers, the company conducted extensive deep cleanings and implemented enhanced health and safety protocols, including social distancing on-site and staggered work shifts and break schedules. Distribution center operations will re-open on April 1, 2020, at which time Ralph Lauren will resume normal shipping of digital and select wholesale orders.

Ralph Lauren also stated that its balance sheet remains strong, with $1.9 billion in cash and short- and long-term investments at the end of its third quarter of Fiscal 2020, a strong investment-grade credit rating and access to capital, coupled with strong operating cash flow generation during normal operations.