RALPH LAUREN: A NATTY OFFERING? RALPH LAUREN HAS A NEW spring line: public shares. On Apr. 8, Lauren filed with the SEC to raise up to $600 million in an initial public offering for Polo Ralph Lauren. With the company producing solid earnings and $909 million in net sales in 1996, ''I think it's going to be the most enduringly successful fashion apparel IPO you've seen in many years,'' says Kurt Barnard of Barnard's Retail Marketing Report. But that isn't saying much. Most of the recent fashion IPOs--from Donna Karan to Mossimo and Guess--have lost at least half their value since they first traded. EDITED BY KELLEY HOLLAND

Updated June 15, 1997 by bwwebmaster
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