Breaking: Ralph Lauren announces they are shuttering their Rugby brand in their fiscal reports today.

It is difficult for me to describe how saddened I am by this. The image above is one the fall rig shots from my tenure there. The brand that was put together by Lee Norwood and John Fiske and displayed in that room was classic, irreverent and full of wit and humor.

The designers I worked with there were among the most talented in the business. When they were allowed to put their product together they way they envisioned it, the end result was one of the most visually impactful brands in the market.

12th September 2014 — Western style clothing in the brand new Polo Ralph Lauren store of Fifth Avenue in New York. — Besides being a flagship store on a premiere shopping street, Polo Ralph Lauren is following the lead of numerous other retailers and has a coffee shop inside the store and a branded coffee truck.

Bolded for emphasis. I think Rugby’s end proves that sometimes the guys upstairs don’t always know what’s best.

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