Ralph Lauren Plans To Take Firm Public

Ralph Lauren isn’t counting on the Wall Street set to buy just his Polo shirts anymore.

The retailing giant on Tuesday announced plans for an initial public offering that would raise as much as $600 million for the New York-based company and further expand its already popular brand name.

“Ralph Lauren represents a social class that’s always in vogue,” said Kurt Barnard, president of Barnard’s Retail Marketing Report, a consulting firm. “I do not know any true competitor of Ralph Lauren and investors will like that.”

In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, the company said it planned to sell an undetermined number of shares, which will be sold by both the company and Ralph Lauren and family.