Proxy Statement & Notice of Annual Meeting
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2021 PROXY STATEMENT & NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING RALPH LAUREN CORPORATION “What we do is not a constant race for what is next, but rather an appreciation for what has come before, so that we may work together to inspire the dream of a better life and the heritage for tomorrow.” LEADERSHIP LETTER RALPH LAUREN CORPORATION A MESSAGE FROM OUR EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN AND CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER AND OUR PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER You are cordially invited to join our 2021 Annual • Balanced our geographical footprint with further Meeting of Stockholders to be held on Thursday, expansion of our business across Asia July 29, 2021, at 9:30 a.m., Eastern time. Our Annual • Diversified our supply chain and continued to Meeting will be a “virtual meeting” of stockholders, reduce lead times which will be conducted exclusively online via live webcast, similar to last year. • Achieved material cost reductions, ultimately creating a leaner, more agile cost structure Your vote is very important. Whether you plan to • Worked in new ways, including virtual showrooms participate in the Annual Meeting or not, please be sure and digital product creation to vote. Information concerning the matters to be considered and voted upon at the 2021 Annual Meeting • Made tangible progress across our Citizenship & is set out in the attached Notice of 2021 Annual Meeting Sustainability goals – deepening our commitments and Proxy Statement. across diversity and inclusion, taking meaningful action to address systemic racism as well as DEAR STOCKHOLDER: launching our circularity strategy The last year will be marked as particularly profound – What’s more, we believe our brand and our Purpose are with the world managing multiple crises across health, more relevant than ever, as the world embraces the kind the economy and society all at once. While a backdrop of luxury we stand for – one marked by optimism, hope, none of us would have chosen, it has also been a time to love and togetherness. Together, with our lifestyle focus on what matters most. positioning and the breadth of our product portfolio, we At Ralph Lauren, our first and primary focus has been are uniquely positioned to deliver value for our ensuring the safety and security of our teams. We are consumers and all of our stakeholders in Fiscal 2022 incredibly proud of and inspired by their resilience, and beyond. commitment and ongoing passion for our brand – all As we look ahead, while the environment remains while dealing with the many challenges of the past year. dynamic, we are clear on where we are headed. We are As we progressively emerge from the pandemic, we are focused on becoming an even more elevated, more a stronger business than when we came into it. Despite direct-to-consumer, more digital, more global and a its disruptions, we fundamentally transformed the more diverse, equitable and sustainable Company. foundations of our Company in Fiscal 2021 – progressing Thank you for your ongoing support and continued on the goals we set out in our Next Great Chapter interest in our Company. We look forward to engaging Strategic Plan to deliver sustainable long-term growth at our 2021 Annual Meeting. and value creation. We took decisive actions – specifically, we: • Elevated our brand, with 16 consecutive quarters of Average Unit Retail growth • Simplified our brand portfolio, licensing Chaps and announcing the planned sale of Club Monaco to focus on our core namesake brands • Increased marketing spend as a percentage of revenue, adding 4 million consumers across our direct-to-consumer network alone • Drove business model and supply chain innovation with the launch of The Lauren Look rental program and our Color on Demand platform, reducing the Ralph Lauren Patrice Louvet environmental impact of cotton dyeing Executive Chairman and President and • Repositioned each of our channels, including reducing Chief Creative Officer Chief Executive Officer off-price and non-elevating wholesale, while accelerating our shift toward direct-to-consumer and New York, New York digital, with a focus on Connected Retail June 17, 2021 1 | 2021 PROXY STATEMENT NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING RALPH LAUREN CORPORATION NOTICE OF 2021 ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS PURPOSE OF THE MEETING NOTICE REGARDING THE AVAILABILITY OF PROXY MATERIALS The 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders of Ralph Lauren Corporation, a Delaware corporation, will be We will be using the Securities and Exchange held virtually via live webcast on Thursday, July 29, Commission’s Notice and Access model, which allows us 2021, at 9:30 a.m., Eastern Time, at to make the proxy materials available on the Internet, as www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/RL2021, or at any the primary means of furnishing proxy materials to postponement or adjournment of the meeting, for the stockholders. On or about June 17, 2021, we will mail to following purposes: all stockholders a Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials, which contains instructions for accessing our 1. To elect 12 directors to serve until the 2022 Annual proxy materials on the Internet and voting by telephone Meeting of Stockholders; or on the Internet. The Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials also contains instructions for requesting 2. To ratify the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP a printed set of proxy materials. The Proxy Statement, (“Ernst & Young”) as our independent registered Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending March 27, 2021, and Notice of Annual Meeting are April 2, 2022; available at: http://investor.ralphlauren.com. 3. To approve, on an advisory basis, the compensation of our named executive officers and our YOUR VOTE IS IMPORTANT compensation philosophy, policies, and practices as described herein; and Please vote promptly by signing, dating, and returning 4. To transact such other business as may properly the enclosed proxy card or voting by telephone or on come before the meeting and any adjournments or the Internet by following the instructions on your Notice postponements thereof. of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials. In the event that a stockholder decides to participate in the online The foregoing items of business are described more meeting, such stockholder may, if so desired, revoke the fully in the accompanying Proxy Statement. Only proxy by voting those shares when joining the meeting. holders of record of the Company’s Class A and Class B Common Stock at the close of business on June 1, 2021 By Order of the Board of Directors, are entitled to notice of, and to vote at, the 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and any adjournments or postponements thereof. AVERY S. FISCHER Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer, and Secretary New York, New York June 17, 2021 2021 PROXY STATEMENT | 2 SPECIAL NOTE RALPH LAUREN CORPORATION SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This document contains, and oral statements made at the 2021 Annual complying with a variety of foreign laws and regulations, including tax laws, Meeting of Stockholders and elsewhere from time to time by our trade and labor restrictions, and related laws that may reduce the flexibility representatives may contain, certain “forward-looking statements” within the of our business; the potential impact to our business resulting from the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward- imposition of additional duties, tariffs, taxes, and other charges or barriers to looking statements include statements regarding, among other things, our trade, including those resulting from trade developments between the U.S. current expectations about the Company’s future results and financial and China, as well as the trade agreement reached in December 2020 condition, revenues, store openings and closings, strategic plans, employee between the United Kingdom and the European Union, and any related reductions, margins, expenses, earnings, citizenship and sustainability goals, impact to global stock markets, as well as our ability to implement mitigating environmental and social goals, and plans for future executive remuneration, sourcing strategies; the impact to our business resulting from increases in the and are indicated by words or phrases such as “anticipate,” “outlook,” costs of raw materials, transportation, and labor, including wages, healthcare, “estimate,” “expect,” “project,” “believe,” “envision,” “goal,” “target,” “can,” and other benefit-related costs; our ability and the ability of our third-party “will,” and similar words or phrases. These forward-looking statements service providers to secure our respective facilities and systems from, among involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may other things, cybersecurity breaches, acts of vandalism, computer viruses, cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different ransomware, or similar Internet or email events; our efforts to successfully from the future results, performance or achievements expressed in or implied enhance, upgrade, and/or transition our global information technology by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based systems and digital commerce platforms; the potential impact to our largely on the Company’s expectations and judgments and are subject to business if any of our distribution centers were to become inoperable or certain risks and uncertainties, many of which are unforeseeable and beyond inaccessible; the potential impact on our operations