Lacoste's green alligators survive in Argentina

(AP) Many top luxury labels have pulled out of Argentina, but one is expanding: It's Lacoste, the French clothier whose shirts carry the green alligator label. The company is opening two big stores in Buenos Aires, supported by Lacoste's first factory outside France.

Rudy Gotlib is the CEO of Lacoste's owner Vesuvio S.A. and he says in a statement issued Wednesday that the company invested nearly $3 million in the Argentine expansion, employing 1,200 workers and becoming the South American country's biggest clothing exporter as well.

Other luxury brands including Armani, Louis Vuitton, Yves Saint Laurent and Cartier have abandoned Argentina, blaming currency controls and import restrictions for strangling their businesses.

Argentina has forced companies to match imports with new production or exports, a requirement Vesuvio has managed to live with.