Yes, there is in fact a difference. They are actually two different brands owned by two different companies. The two brands are not even affiliated with each other.
The Ralph Lauren Polo brand is an international brand by the American fashion designer with its headquarters in New York. The Polo brand that South Africans know and love is owned by the South African holding company L.A Group LTD.
If you want to tell the difference have a look at the emblems. The Ralph Lauren Polo emblem faces towards the buttons of your shirt; while the South African Polo emblem will face away. In fact these two logos are quite different besides the way that they face. Have a look and compare:
Ralph Lauren Polo logo and South African Polo logo respectively
Polo south Africa is leaching off the true Ralph Lauren Polo brand. Such a farce…
I knew about this for years…and look at the designs etc.. The south african version tries to mimic the international Polo collection
Just found out that a ‘Polo Ralph Lauren’ wallet a friend got me is in fact this Polo brand rubbish. And completely agree it is effectively fake Ralph Lauren.
We are just being ripped off here in SA – i wear my Polo Ralph Lauren items with pride and SA idiots think im wearing fakes because it does not look like theirs….mxh *SMH*
Polo in South Africa is a reputable brand that has been around since 1976.It has a rich history in this country of 36years.It was founded by Gordon Joffe and began as a menswear shirting brand.It has expanded into Womenswear,Kids,shoes..handbags..
It currently sponsors the Polo Inanda Club team and our local Jazz festival in Cape Town.
Have you seen the latest Sandton store? Have you seen the great designs and quality?
The quality is great and I buy their kit but why not be bigger than just riding someone else’s brand by having their own. I hide the label on mine and as you can see other’s don’t like to be seen as a fraud. This brand has huge potential with a new name like say Rhino? Imagine the media attention, Polo SA gives up fight and takes on the Rhino fight.
I was so angry when I found out about this, as I own a few of these fake Polo items bought from that Sandton store. So glad I know the truth now. Ralph Lauren should really relaunch that copyright infringement court case again here in SA, I’m pretty sure a different judge will rule in their favour. SA is definitely a market they should be in, as there is a lot of name brand conscience people in this country.
The SA version is a massive fraud! Quite embarrasing
Just returned this shameful merchandise I bought in a rush
Well I have been supporting the South African Polo brand for years, I have never had any issues about the quality, other than ladies items are limited. My husband swears by their Polo shirts. As they do have a long history of their own and quality products, I will continue to buy my business shirts from them.
Also pissed off :[email protected] only found out about it today. Don’t know why do they (LA Group Ltd) still sell that fong kong polo gear of their so expensive. TOTAL DAMN RIP OFF…nxa!!!!!
Yhuuuu bathong!
Polo South Africa stands for quality . I had the honor of knowing Gordon Joffe. And I know the efforts he put in to build the company and the brand , his focus on quality . Just because Polo USA is more known does not diminish Polo SA . In fact , South Africans should be proud of it .
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