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This year, L’Agence proved that its Ralph Lauren-level lifestyle brand ambitions are no shot in the dark.
“We’ve got her,” said Jeff Rudes, the brand’s founder and chairman, regarding the L’Agence customer. “She’s brand-loyal. And first-time shoppers are returning fast and buying a lot more product.”
That emerging customer behavior serves as the ultimate proof point of the strategies Rudes has been orchestrating for L’Agence since taking the reins in 2017. Many are based on his experience leading fashion companies, including J Brand, which he founded in 2005 — the denim brand is widely credited with popularizing skinny jeans.
“When you’re a jean brand, you’re a jean brand — it’s hard for jean companies to execute on categories beyond jeans,” Rudes said. “But L’Agence was a ready-to-wear company, and we added jeans several years in. Now, we have a great jeans business, and it’s easy to sell from the waist up.”
The brand has no reason to stop there.
“When we go into a new category, we see an immediate reaction,” Rudes said.
Since 2021, that has included shoes and swimwear. “When we launched swim, we were among the top five swimwear vendors in our major [retail partners] that season,” he said. This year, the brand introduced outerwear, candles and belts, first consulting with focus groups and testing the sales of small collections before going all in.
Next, L’Agence will debut sleepwear and intimates, with handbags and fragrance planned for further down the road — late 2025 and late 2026, respectively.
“You have to be smart about handbags and fragrance because you could be pulling her away from something she loves,” Rudes said. “It’s more difficult, so we’re not rushing. I want to [first] mature her [love for the brand] even more.”
International expansion has been another 2024 focus for L’Agence. Since July, it has opened showrooms and stores in Paris and Seoul. The plan for these markets is to replicate the brand’s entries into London and Canada by “treating them as investments, chipping away slowly, and remaining patient and realistic about growth,” Rudes said. After three years, L’Agence has a strong U.K. business and plans to open a flagship store in the region late next year.
Another priority has been U.S. retail expansion, including opening stores and expanding the brand’s wholesale footprint. In July, L’Agence rolled out a denim-focused Jean Bar store in L.A., and it will open stores in Houston and Newport Beach this month. “Retail is a very profitable business for us,” Rudes said.
In addition, L’Agence will be tripling the size of its Madison Avenue flagship in NYC to accommodate the full L’Agence lifestyle via its entire category suite.
In speaking about L’Agence’s state and direction, Rudes compared the company to Ralph Lauren during its growth stages. “That’s where we are on this trajectory,” he said.
Since 2020, L’Agence’s revenue has grown 40% annually. In 2023, its e-commerce sales alone totaled more than $100 million. Its owned stores now make up 15% of sales.
To prepare for the company’s next era of growth, Rudes has built out a management team, with plans to further share the reins. “It can’t be just one, two or even three single people [driving the company],” Rudes said. “It’s all about strong management when building a business like this.” In October, L’Agence moved its L.A. headquarters to the historic Harbor Building, where its offices overlook the Hollywood sign.
“Remaining focused, evolving our product, and keeping [the customer] curious and interested is the goal from here,” Rudes said.
