Coach Is Closing 70 Full Price Stores

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#436
alwaysalcazar said:
In my personal opinion it seems that right after the Boroughs the quality started going down the hill and the prices started to go way up and that is around the time that I started to dislike the quality of the leather, especially disliked the new lining:( and I was looking forward to some of those new styles and colors based on the preview pictures. Can't appreciate the direction Coach is going right now, I find myself longing for the quality they are famous for and surprisingly for a more classic look, they are also famous for...the only thing that still has my attention is the special collaborations they have been doing lately ( got some snoopy items and now am thinking about the Baseman stuff) just the fobs though, the bags are not for me, would of loved a standard classic tote, like a taxi tote, with Buster, would of even overlooked that lining...By the way I don't recall ever seeing such high prices on fobs from Coach before, definitely do not like that :)
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I agree!
 
#437
hmm i complained on coach fb page that kate spade was offering canadians american prices and the 20% discount on their sale stuff as well. LOL. Next thing i knew coach sent me an email with an extra 20% off for boxing week.

Wonder if threatening to go to their competitors works?
 
#439
Girl_LV said:

Coach benches 70 stores in North America

http://fortune.com/2014/06/19/coach-store-closing/


Luxury retailer is closing 20% of its stores to try to stop its market share loss to Michael Kors, will concentrate on 12 key markets.


Coach’s COH -8.32% gravy train kept-a-rollin’ for decades, as the New York handbag maker opened hundreds of stores and enjoyed having the market of accessible luxury pretty much to itself.
That helped it go from $38 million in sales in 1979 to $5 billion last year, enough to land a place on the Fortune 500 for the first time, squeezing in at No. 489.
But enter aggressive rival Michael Kors KORS -1.54% , and to a lesser extent Kate Spade KATE -1.54% , in the last three years, and Coach’s sales in North America have plummeted, imperiling its place in the Fortune 500.
Last quarter, Coach reported a 21% drop in North American comparable sales, the fourth straight quarter of worsening declines in a market that generates almost three-quarters of its revenues. Analysts have long said Coach built out too big a fleet, making it hard to make sure each store was attractive, with the ubiquity of Coach stores hurting its upscale aura. The company now agrees.
“This worked when we were unchallenged,” Fran Della Badia, the head of Coach’s North American retail business, told Wall Street analysts in New York of its store expansion. “This isn’t working anymore.”
So to address that, Coach will close 70 of its 350 or so North American full service-stores in the first half of the fiscal year starting in two weeks. It will shift its focus to better stores and flagships in its 12 best markets, which collectively generate half of its North American sales. Coach is also going to scale back its factory outlet business, with five fewer stores.
The company expects its North American comparable sales to be down by a high teen percentage in the new fiscal year as it shifts gear, and to finally return to growth two years after that.
Coach, blamed by analysts for relying too heavily on promotions and thereby destroying its upscale image, also said it was going to scale back sales events in its full service stores, holding only two semi-annual events.
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Instead of closing full price stores, it should close outlets. The full price stores aren't what makes it seem less luxurious, it's the outlets that do.
 
#440
I also think coach could regain its luxurious-ness and exclusivity if they took a page out of LVs book and maybe raised prices a little bit on FP and made the outlets not have sales but just use the already discounted prices and nothing more. Also, make two separate lines; one outlet line, and one FP line, and never let FP items or lookalikes into the outlet. Just my two cents
 
#441
If they eliminated the outlets and raised FP stores i think that would surely be their anchor to the bottom of the ocean, it's been clear the outlets are doing better than FP made even more evident by the closure of mainly FP locations vs outlets.

They need to re-vamp but alienating customers from either base(FP/Factory) isn't going to be the answer either. It will be interesting to see how they handle it all and what changes are made.
 
#444
This is just my opinion, but here goes:

My COACH revival plan
- Gradually phase out outlets
- Start by gradually having less and less sales until you reach a point and stop having sales, but items are still sold for less than in FP, but that is the only discount you get; what's on the tag is what you get; no coupons
- Stop carrying full-price items in outlets; gradually sell less and less full-price items in outlets until you no longer sell items in outlets
- After you reach this point, only sell MFF items in the factory store.
- Make MFF items more obvious by replacing the New York under the Coach logo with FACTORY...; this will make FP items more desirable because they won't be branded as Factory

- Make FP items more exclusive
- Raise items on full price and come out with a "legacy" line of bags that stays around forever, such as how LV has the Speedy and Neverfull, Hermes has the Birkin and Kelly, etc. and gradually improve these bags over time and raise prices each improvement (if it drastically changes the design such as the Neverfull Neo with new lining and new included Pouchette) or don't raise the price of it doesn't drastically change (such as the LV Speedy with the zipper pull that's finished on both sides, the stitching above the rivet, etc.
- Stop selling in Department Stores, only sell in Coach Stores and on Coach.com
- Bring manf. back the U.S. from China

This strategy has worked for many brands, and this is just my opinion.
 
#445
lvmk said:
This is just my opinion, but here goes:

My COACH revival plan
- Gradually phase out outlets
- Start by gradually having less and less sales until you reach a point and stop having sales, but items are still sold for less than in FP, but that is the only discount you get; what's on the tag is what you get; no coupons
- Stop carrying full-price items in outlets; gradually sell less and less full-price items in outlets until you no longer sell items in outlets
- After you reach this point, only sell MFF items in the factory store.
- Make MFF items more obvious by replacing the New York under the Coach logo with FACTORY...; this will make FP items more desirable because they won't be branded as Factory

- Make FP items more exclusive
- Raise items on full price and come out with a "legacy" line of bags that stays around forever, such as how LV has the Speedy and Neverfull, Hermes has the Birkin and Kelly, etc. and gradually improve these bags over time and raise prices each improvement (if it drastically changes the design such as the Neverfull Neo with new lining and new included Pouchette) or don't raise the price of it doesn't drastically change (such as the LV Speedy with the zipper pull that's finished on both sides, the stitching above the rivet, etc.
- Stop selling in Department Stores, only sell in Coach Stores and on Coach.com
- Bring manf. back the U.S. from China

This strategy has worked for many brands, and this is just my opinion.
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Agreed +++, especially the made in USA & maintaining a legacy collection that always represents it's heritage. They've forgotten where they've come from.

Also, rename the outlet so it's not the same as FP boutiques.
 
#446
coachgrl said:
Agreed +++, especially the made in USA & maintaining a legacy collection that always represents it's heritage. They've forgotten where they've come from.

Also, rename the outlet so it's not the same as FP boutiques.
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Yeah, that's what I mean... Make the items purchased from the outlet say FACTORY instead of NEW YORK even on the outside Coach label so under COACH if says FACTORY.
 
#448
lvmk said:
Yeah, that's what I mean... Make the items purchased from the outlet say FACTORY instead of NEW YORK even on the outside Coach label so under COACH if says FACTORY.
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I really don't get the focus on that, i mean i have MFF and FP items, I feel like people are making it out like those who carry MFF should be put under a spotlight over it? Let's ensure everyone knows this was NOT bought at FP store..


I enjoy Coach bags, but it's not a status thing.. sorry, i just enjoy the designs, and it's fun seeing them out and about, i am not concerned if it's the classic mama or the business class lady wearing it, nor whether they got it at factory or FP stores. :shrugs:
 
#449
HesitantShopper said:
I really don't get the focus on that, i mean i have MFF and FP items, I feel like people are making it out like those who carry MFF should be put under a spotlight over it? Let's ensure everyone knows this was NOT bought at FP store..


I enjoy Coach bags, but it's not a status thing.. sorry, i just enjoy the designs, and it's fun seeing them out and about, i am not concerned if it's the classic mama or the business class lady wearing it, nor whether they got it at factory or FP stores. :shrugs:
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I'm saying this will help improve the luxurious image of the core brand. Not to put those who don't buy from the core brand under the spotlight. They should be two separate entities and that's what is making the Full Price Store sale numbers so low; everyone just goes to the outlet
 
#450
lvmk said:
I'm saying this will help improve the luxurious image of the core brand. Not to put those who don't buy from the core brand under the spotlight. They should be two separate entities and that's what is making the Full Price Store sale numbers so low; everyone just goes to the outlet
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Exactly!
 
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