Lacoste: Family feud imperils business independence

Lacoste, an internationally renowned leisurewear brand, was a company owned by the family, having been founded in 1933 by legendary tennis player Rene Lacoste. It hit crisis in 2012 over a feud within the family, despite a strong recent history in terms of business management. Indeed, the company had successfully recovered from a mini-crisis of brand prestige in the late 1980s/early 1990s. Handling successions posed particular challenges. There was a difficult, but ultimately effective succession from 2nd generation Bernard to his brother Michel in 2005, then an unsuccessful handover to 3rd generation Philippe in 2008-2009. Another feature was the relatively high influence of family members with inherited shares and relatively little knowledge of the business. The constitution was not updated after its drafting in 1986.