“When we sat down in our offices to decide which fabrics and shirts to apply this to technology to, we made a lot of choices”, David Lauren, executive vice president of global advertising, marketing and corporate communications, explained to WWD.
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The PoloTech first model was introduced in 2014, at the U.S Open, when top ranked player, Marcos Giron, wore the shirt when practicing.
(The app also includes variable workouts for strength, cardio and agility.) The black box slips out easily, so the shirt can get tossed in the washing machine.
Ralph Lauren Corporation’s (NYSE:RL) innovative PoloTech™ smartshirt, a seamless blend of sleek, modern style with real-time biometric technology, makes its retail debut on August 27. That company spent hundreds of millions of dollars to acquire MapMyFitness, MyFitnessPal, and Endomondo not too long after it slowly moved its focus away from its sensor-embedded shirts.
For more than a decade, tech and athletic companies have been tinkering with wearables that target “elite, and even professional, athletes”, says Angela McIntyre, research director at Gartner, who follows wearables and connected apparel.
The app does not only gather data about the wearer’s workout but it also analyses the data in real time.
Silver fibers woven directly into the shirt’s fabric allow for accurate readings of stats such as heart rate and variability, breathing depth and recovery, intensity of movement, energy output and stress levels, steps taken and calories burned. Now Ralph Lauren has announced Thursday in New York City that the first of the new PoloTech shirts will go on sale August 27th at a price of $295.
The “black box” that collects and processes the information uses five connectors and contains an accelerometer that captures intensity of movement based on three g-force measurements, the company said.
The compression shirt is available for men only; however, it only took 5 short years for Ralph Lauren to create his first womens’ clothing line after his opening his company. Its Wholesale business, representing about 47% of the fiscal 2014 revenues that are net of the Company, consists of deal made largely to leading department stores and specialty stores across the world. Finally, Zacks cut shares of Ralph Lauren Corp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. The PoloTech app workout routines were devised by Galvanized, the health and fitness media company founded by David Zinczenko.
Last summer OMsignal CEO and cofounder Stéphane Marceau predicted: “Smart clothing will become a pervasive and normal aspect of consumers’ lives”.
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Of course, given the price point of the shirt alone, you’ll have to be prepared to shell out some major change for this personalized workout device, but just think of it this way – at $295, it’s still $55 cheaper than the Apple Watch. It is timed to coincide with the start of this year’s U.S. Open tennis competition.
