Ralph Lauren To Shutter Rugby Label

The game is over for Ralph Lauren’s preppy/sporty secondary label Rugby. The brand confirmed today that the collection will be ended on February 2, 2013, when its standalone stores—in New York, Boston, Georgetown, as well as several other key cities throughout the U.S., in London, and two stores in Japan—will close, as will the e-commerce site Rugby.com. Rugby skewed younger than some of the Lauren Corporation’s other labels—in fact, its Web site offers 15 percent discounts to all college students—but like them, aimed for a full lifestyle immersion into its world. (The Georgetown store also includes a Rugby Café.) The label was founded in 2004. The company had no official comment at publishing time.