Ralph Lauren to open Regent Street coffee bar

Luxury groups and brands have long divested their interests, and building brand extensions is just one way of bringing awareness and profit to a familiar name.

Take Ralph Lauren, for example, who's Polo lifestyle is so well engrained in consumers minds, that its new concept, a coffee bar and dining experience due to open next to its London Polo flagship on Regent Street, will be a surefire success.

Aptly called Ralph's Coffee & Bar, the venue will open this Thursday, and features the company's luscious interior such as leather banquettes, a brass bar and dark wood panelling. Expect plenty of equestrian touches and black and silver-framed black and white photography.

According to WWD the company said its new hospitality venture is a "natural extension of the heritage of Polo, that will add yet another dimension to the worlds we create."

The Polo store next door is Europe's largest with nearly 18,000 square feet of retail space dedicated to all the Polo lines, including a personalisation shop.

Photo credit:Polo Ralph Laurent, source: Regent Street Online