It was during that tournament Rene Lacoste struck a wager with his captain that if he won that important match for France, his captain would have to buy him a suitcase created out of alligator skin. As it happened, the match was won and Rene Lacoste was dubbed by media as well as the press at that time as the Alligator. His close friend, Robert George took the opportunity to sketch a tiny alligator which was then embroidered on Renes blazer. That was the start of the alligator brand named Lacoste and the alligator has not looked back since.
Rene and Andre Gillier in 1933 then decided to join hands to set up a company. Andre Gillier, by virtue of running a highly successful French knitwear firm, had the expertise and he had in Rene the right brand ambassador to further the already well known alligator brand. Both wanted to leverage the unique design for use in shirts for sports like tennis, golf, sailing and others. In fact they released the first collection in 1933 itself.
After that, the ride has been pretty smooth for the brand as it replaced sports shirts made of woven fabric and also extended its product range to include fragrances and colognes. Some of the popular ones were Cool Play Cologne, Lacoste Hot Play Cologne, Lacoste Pour Homme Cologne, Booster Cologne and many other such fragrances.
The brand then made its foray into footwear, socks and belts. By now people were pretty conversant and confident about the quality of the brand and took to these products with great enthusiasm. The brand was also greatly helped by prominent sports personalities like Andy Roddick and many others.
Indeed, very few brands have stood the test of time for so long and kept gaining in popularity even as competition kept increasing. It is a tribute to the high standards of quality and consistency of Lacoste that it has continued to elicit interest and brand loyalty from its many fans all over the world.