Bernard Lacoste, who spent more than 40 years at the helm of the Lacoste clothing empire best known for its crocodile-embossed polo shirts, died Tuesday at a Paris hospital. He was 74.

Lacoste was credited with turning the family sportswear business into an apparel company with global reach.

Lacoste succeeded his father, tennis champion Rene Lacoste, as president of the Paris-based clothing manufacturer in 1963.

He presided over the international expansion of the group and added women’s and accessory lines to the company’s sporty looks, all emblazoned with Lacoste’s signature crocodile insignia.

Company founder Rene Lacoste earned the nickname “the Crocodile” while representing France in a 1927 Davis Cup match, after the team captain promised him a crocodile-skin suitcase if he won the match.The American press got word of the story, and soon dubbed him “the Crocodile.”

The two-time Wimbledon champion wore the nickname proudly, and was quoted on Lacoste’s corporate Web site as having said the name conveyed the “tenacity I displayed on the tennis courts, never letting go of my prey.” He had the shirts and sports jackets he wore in his matches embroidered with a jagged-toothed crocodile.

The animal went from personal label to a corporate logo in 1933, when Rene Lacoste and partner Andre Giller founded the sportswear brand, which gained notoriety for its knit polo shirts.

Rene’s son, Bernard, took the brand beyond polos, introducing tennis shoes, watches and a perfume line during his 42-year tenure at the helm of the firm.

Bernard Lacoste was born in Paris on June 22,1931. He handed over the reins of the company to his younger brother Michel in September but remained “honorary president” until his death.