Now Ralph Lauren is Shopping at Brooks Brothers

The short list of potential purchasers of Brooks Brothers, the New York-based men's specialty chain, now includes Polo Ralph Lauren.

Ralph Lauren is one of seven bidders to make it through to the second round of the auction. Marks & Spencer, the British retail organization, began taking bids last month after announcing it was putting the preppy specialty retailer chain up for sale. More than 20 initial bids were received.

Joining Ralph Lauren among the quarter-finalists are believed to be May Department Stores (St. Louis-based owner of Lord & Taylor, Foley's, Filene's, Hecht's, Strawbridge's, Robinsons-May, Famous-Barr, L.S. Ayres, Meier & Frank, The Jones Store, and Kaufmann's); Mens Wearhouse (Houston) and Retail Brand Alliance Group, which owns the Casual Corner stores. Also still considered in the running are Texas Pacific, the leveraged buyout specialist that owns J Crew and Bally shoes; Bain Capital, a Boston-based venture capital firm; and Dickson Concepts, the Hong Kong- based retailer which already operates Brooks Brothers franchises in Southeast Asia (and once was a serious semi-finalist to acquire the emerging-from-bankruptcy Barneys New York).

The May Co. is still considered the front-runner because it has the deepest pockets. But the interest of Polo Ralph Lauren adds a glamorous new dimension to the sale process. Polo Ralph Lauren has 34 U.S. stores and 121 overseas. However, most of its operations trade under the Polo or Ralph Lauren names, so the acquisition of a rival brand – even one once so highly regarded as Brooks Brothers — would represent a departure.

Fueling the expectations for a pitched battle even further were the rumors that Chris Littmoden, the former head of Brooks Brothers, is interested in entering the bidding, and that Joe Gromek, the current ceo, is also in a strong position to continue running the chain if a venture capitalist buyer is successful.

Presentations were continuing this week, led by Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, which is advising Marks & Spencer on the sale. The winner is not expected to be announced until September or October.