strength test . izod type subsidiary founded 1938 headquarters new york city new york u.s. key people emanuel chirico chairman & ceo products apparel gifts & footwear number of employees 10 001 2013 parent pvh 1995 present website www.izod.com izod officially stylized as izod is a clothing company that produces dressy casual clothing sportswear for men as well as footwear and accessories . it is part of pvh . it is perhaps best known for its short sleeved piqu polo shirt formerly produced by lacoste and featuring the lacoste crocodile on the left breast now replaced with a color matching coordinating crest and left sleeve embroidery . one variation is the iz patch instead of crest . this shirt along with ralph lauren polo was popular in the 1970s and 80s among the preppy and mod sets . citation needed other izod classics include the harrington jacket g 9 model also v neck & cardigan sweaters . today the izod brand competes with other similarly priced brands such as ralph lauren s chaps brand nautica and u.s. polo assn. . contents 1 history 1.1 izod lacoste 1.2 growth 1.3 separation 1.4 retail closure 2 brands 2.1 current 2.2 former 3 availability 4 sports sponsorships 5 see also 6 references 7 external links history edit in the late 1930s vincent de paul draddy an american businessman employed by david crystal co. needed a strong name to associate with his quality merchandise for menswear . while vacationing with his family in london he encountered jack izod s tailoring boutique . izod himself a well respected tailor produced bespoke shirts and created the windsor tie knot for king george v but was ready to retire and accepted draddy s offer to purchase the rights to his distinctive name . the a.j. izod of london clothing company was introduced to the usa in 1938 . izod lacoste edit izod of london would become most notable for its pairing with the lacoste shirt company from 1952 to 1993 . vincent draddy began to license the lacoste shirt to add prestige to the izod line but he couldn t find a market for the then expensive 8.00 retail price . 1 after draddy began giving the shirts away to his famous friends dwight d. eisenhower bing crosby daniel platt and john f. kennedy the shirts soon became popular with department stores . izod of london became a brand known simply as izod lacoste . while the shirts were equally izod and lacoste they became abbreviated and popularized as izod shirts which led to the ongoing misunderstanding that the famous crocodile is the izod trademark . growth edit in 1964 bernard lacoste took over the management of the company . significant company growth was seen under bernard s management . when he became president around 300 000 izod lacoste products were sold annually . the izod lacoste brand reached its height of popularity in the us during the late 1970s and became the signature 1980s preppy wardrobe item mentioned in the official preppy handbook . the company also began to introduce other products into their line including shorts perfume optical and sunglasses tennis shoes deck shoes walking shoes watches and various leather goods . in 1977 le tigre clothing was founded in an attempt to directly compete with izod lacoste in the us market selling a similar array of apparel but featuring a tiger in place of the signature lacoste crocodile . also during this period izod s parent crystal brands came under the management of general mills and purchased the gant u.s.a. brand . separation edit during the early 1990s izod lacoste struggled to maintain the market dominance it had enjoyed in previous decades . the initial reaction from crystal brands was to separate the two names and target two groups of customers at once ; izod was re introduced as moderate pricepoint apparel in department stores while lacoste was renamed lacoste chemise and re positioned as a luxury lifestyle brand . eventually this tactic did not provide the financial gain crystal had hoped and the license partnering ended in 1993 . sportloisirs s.a. purchased the lacoste brand entirely in 1993 while izod was sold to phillips van heusen corporation in 1995 . pvh repositioned and restored some of izod s previous relevance while introducing a number of products lines and brands . complete with an izod crest logo or patch . in addition to its sportswear izod designs a full range of men s suits shirts neckties shoes outerwear and fragrances and continues to produce its famous polo shirts . currently within the pvh corp. the izod branded shirt has become part of the biggest shirt company in the usa . march 15 2010 izod s parent company pvh purchased the tommy hilfiger brand . there has been some speculation over the merging of both brands to increase exposure abroad . 2 retail closure edit on january 7 2015 parent company phillips van heusen announced that it would be closing all 120 izod retail outlets due to an increasing competitive environment driven by more premium brands in the outlet retail channel . this move will not affect izod s growing wholesale business to department stores and other retailers . 3 as of 2015 izod no longer makes and sells women s clothing except for the golf line . brands edit since izod s first brand izod was launched in 1938 it has grown considerably to include a variety of essential and luxury brands . current edit izod formerly izod classix izod s main brand for men and also the most widely available . this line spans from tailored clothing sportswear activewear and fragrances to leather goods . available at many department stores . until 2015 this line also included women s clothing . izod jeans denim basics and weekend sportswear from the izod line offered at some department stores . izod saltwater collection a collection of men s clothing primarily designed for relaxed laid back weekends . this line generally features softer fabrics for greater comfort . available at some department stores . izod advantage introduced in 2016 . a collection of high performance clothing aimed at active individuals such as tennis players . this line often features lightweight cotton polyester blends non iron fabric pre shrunk fabric and or moisture wicking fabric . available at many department stores . izod golf the official golf line of izod including shirts shorts and pants available for both men and women . available at many department stores and at van heusen outlet stores . former edit izod luxury sports izod s red label premium sportswear brand for men with premium fabrics and finer attention to detail ; such as name embroidery . as with the blue label luxury sports spans from tailored clothing sportswear activewear and accessories to leather goods . once available exclusively at premium department stores discontinued in 2014 . izod performx a high tech sports collection aimed at winter sport gear golfers swimming and indycar . often featuring lightweight microfibers and super pima cottons . discontinued in 2015 . availability edit in the united states as of 2016 most izod products are available at jcpenney kohl s and belk stores and is also sold by online retailer amazon.com . select macy s stores also carry izod products with some locations only carrying the golf line and others carrying a larger variety of izod products . sports sponsorships edit the former continental airlines arena in new jersey united states was renamed the izod center as of october 31 2007 the national basketball association s new jersey nets season opener . the company paid 1.4 million per annum for the naming rights during the first two years of the agreement while the nets remained tenants which dropped to 750 000 per year for the balance of the five year deal . 4 in 2009 izod became the official apparel provider of the indycar series and firestone indy lights series . izod produces t shirts polos pullovers hats and umbrellas for league and team officials and the general public . in 2010 izod became the official title sponsor of the izod indycar series a deal worth 10 million a year for 5 years . 5 izod discontinued its sponsorship in 2014 . 6 see also edit izod lacoste izod center indycar series lacoste references edit approximately 70 in 2015 dollars . tommy hilfiger s next act . marketwatch . march 15 2010 . retrieved september 30 2013 . pvh to shut izod s retail business . fashionable new name for arena the new york times october 5 2007 . accessed october 11 2007 . on oct. 31 when the nets open their season against the chicago bulls the meadowlands arena named for continental airlines for 12 years will be rechristened the izod center . izod will pay 1.4 million a year in cash for the first two years of the five year agreement which will be cut to 750 000 annually in 2009 when the nets are expected to move to brooklyn . indycar lands title sponsor indystar.com november 3 2009 izod dropping indycar series sponsorship . indianapolis business journal . september 27 2013 . retrieved september 27 2013 . external links edit izod inside izod izod center v t e pvh arrow calvin klein izod olga speedo north america only tommy hilfiger van heusen warner s retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title izod & oldid 740271787 categories clothing brands of the united statespvh clothing brandshidden categories pages using infobox company with unsupported parametersall articles with unsourced statementsarticles with unsourced statements from august 2014 navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version languages add links this page was last modified on 20 september 2016 at 02 14 . text is available under the creative commons attribution sharealike license ; 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