U.S. Polo Assn. climbs to top of global sports licensing rankings

The sport brand climbed to No. 22 overall on a list spanning entertainment, fashion, lifestyle and sports properties. The ranking follows a record $2.7 billion in worldwide retail sales in 2025, up from $2.5 billion in 2024, across a distribution network in more than 190 countries.

The result caps an unusual climb for a brand many shoppers still associate with casualwear rather than sport. U.S. Polo Assn. is the official apparel brand of the United States Polo Association (USPA), the national governing body for polo in the US, founded in 1890.

For most of its history the brand stayed small next to larger sportswear rivals. Over the past decade, USPA Global, the subsidiary that manages and licenses the brand, has pursued international growth built on accessible sport-inspired apparel, footwear and accessories.

That strategy has turned U.S. Polo Assn. into a retail operation spanning more than 1,200 stores and over 60 branded e-commerce sites. North America remains its largest market. India is its fastest-growing, where the brand says it already outsells Levi’s in menswear.

J. Michael Prince, who has led USPA Global since 2018, has steered the brand toward younger shoppers through social media, e-commerce and a closer tie to the sport itself. Its social channels now reach more than 15 million followers as of mid-2026, and e-commerce has grown to about 20 percent of sales, up from 2 percent in 2018.

The brand’s ”The Polo Shirt: An Icon Born from the Game” campaign reinforces that connection, tracing the polo shirt’s design back to the sport that inspired it.

U.S. Polo Assn. is targeting $4 billion in global retail sales over the long term, alongside 1,500 stores (up from 1,200 today) and 100 country-specific digital sites (up from 60).