La Martina continues to support the international development of polo as Official Supplier of the Viareggio Polo Beach Cup 2013 The Argentinian brand remains the global leader in polowear and is partner to numerous prestigious international institutions and tournaments ensuring the continued growth of the sport. Internationally recognized for its high quality polo equipment and leisure clothing, La Martina is present in North, Central and South America, Europe, the Middle East and South East Asia, with more than 70 exclusive stores in locations such as Buenos Aires, Palm Beach, St Tropez, Milan, Lyon, Forte dei Marmi, Capri, Dubai, Doha and Kuala Lumpur. La Martina is one of the sole companies, which continues to research and develop new technologies and materials specifically for polo. La Martina is the official supplier of the Federation of International Polo, the Argentinean Polo Association and other international federations. In addition to the various national teams, La Martina also equips the university teams of Harvard, Yale, Oxford, and Cambridge. La Martina is currently the official supplier of more than 90 polo events around the world. La Martina is also a partner of the Guards Polo Club, “the most prestigious polo club in the world” according to The Polo Magazine. In 2009, HM Queen Elizabeth II opened La Martina’s polo pro shop at the Guards Polo Club in Windsor. The Polo Management Group (PMG), which runs in parallel to La Martina, promotes the sport of polo internationally by providing the integrated set of services needed to organize turnkey polo events anywhere on the planet. In 2007 alone, PMG arranged some 60 events in Europe, making it by far the largest polo organizer in the world.
Brand History La Martina was founded in 1985, in Argentina, by Lando Simonetti. A keen polo player in his youth; Simonetti saw an opportunity to provide professional players with high-quality equipment. The company began making leather saddles and boots before adding shirts and caps to its offering. In 1985, La Martina opened their first store in the heart of Buenos Aires. The company’s big break came in the early nineties when they put together a high handicap polo team to participate in the Argentinean Open, and outfitted them in La Martina’s iconic shirts. Major Argentinean polo players and teams quickly became regular customers and started to request special shirt series for their teams and clubs. Argentina being a mecca for polo, shop owners and teams from around the world came to Buenos Aires and started buying the shirts for wholesale distribution. European expansion soon followed: in 2002 La Martina exhibited for the first time at the Pitti Uomo trade show in Florence, and started opening flagship stores in prestigious locations across Europe. La Martina made its Middle Eastern debut with the opening of a store at the Dubai Mall in 2009 which offers the entire range of La Martina products. In 2010, perfumes and leather accessories were also introduced under license thereby completing the product range.
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