U.S. Polo Assn. Saddles Up Global Plans from Palm Beach County

FROM THE POLO FIELD TO THE OCEANS to the airwaves and across 1,200 retail stores worldwide, the U.S. Polo Assn. brand is running full stride on a global scale. Even before the United States Polo Association (USPA) acquired the 161-acre International Polo Club there this summer, USPA Global Licensing (USPAGL), the company that manages and oversees the U.S. Polo Assn. brand, signed a host of deals to take its sport to new audiences.

Its entertainment and media subsidiary, Global Polo Entertainment, signed a landmark deal with ESPN to air the finals of the top seven U.S. and World Championship polo events in 2022. These include the XII FIP World Polo Championship, the 2022 Gauntlet of Polo®, the top-rated U.S. Open Women’s Polo Championship, and the semi-finals and finals of the 100th Men’s and Women’s National Intercollegiate Championship.

In June, USPAGL announced that U.S. Polo Assn., the official brand of the USPA, registered a record $1.8 billion in global retail and online sales for 2021. The company grew to 1,200 retail stores in 190 countries, with flagship locations in New York’s Times Square and a five-story store on Istiklal Street in Istanbul, Turkey. New stores are planned for India, the United Kingdom and Brazil.

The company’s successes have won accolades. U.S. Polo Assn. was awarded the Retail and Leisure International Global Retailer of the Year Award and was named a Top 500 Retailer by Digital Commerce 360. In addition, the brand now ranks fifth in global sports licensing, just behind the National Football League, the NFL Players Association, Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association, and is the 28th-largest global licensor amid the top 150 retail brands of any kind in the world, according to License Global magazine.

The deals and praise have been symbiotic, historic and groundbreaking for a brand determined to reach more fans, attract new audiences and deliver more polo sport and lifestyle content on a global scale, said J. Michael Prince, who was named USPAGL President and CEO in 2018 after holding C-suite titles with Nike, Converse, Cole Haan and Guess.

Prince’s goal has been to build an enterprise that’s exciting, inclusive and philanthropic. The ESPN deal showcases college competitors and reveals how male and female players regularly compete on the same field. In fact, women represent nearly half of all club-level players today.

Philanthropy is central to the sport’s growth. The brand, U.S. Polo Assn., partners with 48 college teams across 28 universities nationwide to help with equipment, operations and tournament costs and planning. It also provides scholarships to fashion students and funds facility improvements at Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts in West Palm Beach. Expanding overseas, U.S. Polo Assn. partners with HRH The Prince of Whales and his many children’s charities through the Royal Charity Cup in the U.K., among many more.

In April, USPAGL and 4ocean, the Boca Raton-based organization that fishes plastics from the world’s oceans, rivers and coastlines, announced that their partnership had tallied 30,000 pounds of trash removed—half of their 60,000-pound commitment.

“We are very thoughtful and deliberate about giving back to the community,” said Prince, who’s not a polo player but who grew up on an Oklahoma ranch surrounded by cattle and livestock. His passion for sports started in childhood, and allows him to “put that lens on this beautiful sport.” for the next generation of players but for the next 100 years of the sport.”

For the first time in history as a sport and brand, we own our version of Yankee Stadium, Fenway Park or Churchill Downs.”

J. Michael Prince President and CEO USPA Global Licensing Inc.