Why Polo Is Luxury’s Favourite Side Hustle

From fashion to fast cars, the world’s biggest brands are cashing in on the sport of kings.

By Business of Polo Editorial Team

Polo has always been less about filling stadiums and more about filling champagne glasses. It’s the sport where heritage, speed, and spectacle intersect in a very curated front row. And lately, luxury brands, from fashion houses to watchmakers to car companies, are rediscovering that a field of ponies might be a more powerful billboard than any fashion week backdrop.

Heritage Loves Heritage

Some matches feel inevitable: Ralph Lauren and polo, for one. The pony logo has outgrown the game itself, but its roots run straight back to the field; tailored whites, boots, mallets, the whole aesthetic canon. Hermès, meanwhile, doesn’t need to cosplay authenticity. Saddlery is its DNA. And La Martina? Born in Buenos Aires to outfit players, it turned technical gear into cultural shorthand. Brands are stepping away from being just sponsors to style architects shaping how polo looks.

Watches, Wheels, and Bubbles

Luxury watches were practically built for polo. Piaget leaned into the sport’s elegance. Jaeger-LeCoultre created the Reverso for British officers in India who needed a watch that could survive a chukker. Today it’s both a timepiece and a polo icon.

Then come the cars. Maserati, Bentley (brands where horsepower has multiple meanings) attach themselves to tournaments to remind the crowd that prestige doesn’t just gallop, it purrs. And if the game needs fuel? Champagne houses like Veuve Clicquot and Moët & Chandon have perfected the polo + flute combo, turning sidelines into lifestyle theatre.

Why Polo Works for Luxury

Unlike tennis or F1, polo isn’t concerned with reaching millions. It’s about reaching the right few thousand. Patrons, royals, developers, and a VIP crowd that treats the tent like a front row. St. Moritz Snow Polo doubles as a jewellery showcase. Sotogrande polo weekends sync with villa launches. Palm Beach sidelines feel closer to couture week than to a sports match. For brands, it’s intimacy disguised as spectacle.

The Risks and the Returns

The flip side? Polo is seasonal, niche, and doesn’t come with global TV numbers (although we did just binge Netlix's new 'Polo' docuseries in one sitting). But maybe that’s the point. Scarcity is a flex. When a bottle of Veuve pours at Palermo, or an RM is spotted on the wrist of a 10-goaler, the influence punches far above its weight.

Beyond Sponsorship: What’s Next

The logo-on-boards era is fading. The future is capsule collections tied to tournaments, immersive brand lounges, and sustainability plays built into polo estates. Expect collabs that feel more like cultural statements than sponsorship deals.

For polo, this is survival through reinvention. For brands, it’s the sweet spot: tradition wrapped in performance, exclusivity dressed as community.

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