According to information reported by WWD, U.S. Polo Assn. has reportedly appointed David Swetman as global head of design for men and boys. The designer would be joining the company after eighteen years at Abercrombie & Fitch, where he held the position of senior concept designer for global men's ready-to-wear.

At Abercrombie & Fitch, he is credited with playing a significant role in reinventing the company's menswear business. A graduate of Central Saint Martins, he completed internships at Paul Smith and Reiss before joining the American brand.

A $4 billion target

J. Michael Prince, president and chief executive officer of USPA Global, linked the hire to the company's growth target. He said the company remains committed to investing in « des talents exceptionnels capables d'élever nos offres produits, de renforcer nos capacités de design mondiales et de façonner l'avenir de nos activités homme et garçon à travers le monde ». He also described Swetman's role as contributing to « l'une des transformations de marque les plus notables du secteur ».

USPA Global has just completed five consecutive record years, reporting $2.7 billion in global retail sales for 2025, up from $2.5 billion in 2024 and $2.4 billion in 2023. The company is now targeting $4 billion in global sales, a goal accompanied by targets of 1,500 stores, 100 digital sites and 25 million social media followers. The brand currently operates around 1,200 stores worldwide, having pushed back the deadline for its store-count target to 2030.

A largely licensed architecture

USPA Global sells in more than 190 countries, through around 50 e-commerce sites operated in 20 languages. North America remains its largest region, with growth also seen in India, the Middle East, Western Europe and Latin America. Most of this global presence, however, runs through licensees rather than owned operations, which makes a single global design authority a structural change rather than simply a personnel decision.

Against this backdrop, USPA Global has extended its partnership with ESPN through 2026, which broadcasts the « U.S. Open Polo Championship » from the USPA National Polo Center in Palm Beach County. Other broadcast agreements cover TNT and Eurosport in Europe, Star Sports in India and BeIn Sports in the Middle East.