Interesting, with these new investors? partners whatever they are, I am betting we will see changes to which side(positive/negative) these will lean of coarse only time will tell.
Coach is expensive now
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Interesting, with these new investors? partners whatever they are, I am betting we will see changes to which side(positive/negative) these will lean of coarse only time will tell.
Well, this why I go to the thrift store to find my pre loved goodies. I've even found one coach bag from a year ago for 20 bucks! Used to retail for $398!
I can safely say that most of my Coach items are pre loved! I found my Ali Legacy shoulder flap for $15.00. It used to retail for $498.
All of Roots' leather goods are still made in Canada. The rest is made in China nowadays like everyone else. I do recall seeing an interview with the owners of Roots and they were exploring ways to bring back more manufacturing to Canada but they were having difficulty finding a good compromise on a price consumers would be willing to pay.
These are luxury items though, not necessities. The price of luxury items needn't be proportional to salaries. I'm referring to handbags and other similar things here, not rent or food.
It is hard to find a well made, non leather handbag for under $100, that is par for the course- prices increase. Coach has always had higher end bags, their pinnacle line was always well above the $500 mark and up into the $1k price point. It is just now if you want mid-level or a gateway style, you have to choose crossgrain instead of the better leathers from before, such as the Madison, Chelsea or Kristin lines.
Very true about trying to find inexpensive non-leather bags. Even Kipling and LeSportsac have had substantial price increses over the last 5 or 10 years. LS is even trying to "upgrade" some of their classic styles like the Deluxe Everyday Bag by introducing a style called an Everyday Bag with fewer features (like the expandable zip-out feature for the front section and I think even the matching cosmetic bag) and priced between $12 and $42 HIGHER than the old Deluxe Everyday. It's probably just a matter of time before the new more expensive version replaces the old one. Maybe the new math makes sense to them, but not to me.
I think the scramble to send production to China because of the cheap labor 10 or 15 years ago is biting a lot of those companies right in the arse, now that wages in China are rising and the companies who bailed out of the US and other manufacturing locations are having to raise their retail prices to cover. So production that would have been once been done by China is now being outsourced to even poorer third-world countries like Bangladesh, because often the almost complete lack of environmental, child protection, health and safety and minimum wage laws make it much more attractive from a profit point of view than a rapidly industrializing and pseudo-democritising country like China where all those current and former manufacturing industry wage slaves are finding out that being a consumer with spending money in your pocket is a lot more fun.
http://www.bloomberg.com/gadfly/articles/2016-04-26/coach-earnings-a-warning-to-department-stores
Really good article on the future of Coach and pricing strategies. Looks like the days of finding plentiful store deletes at outlets with steep discounts could be over.
Really good article on the future of Coach and pricing strategies. Looks like the days of finding plentiful store deletes at outlets with steep discounts could be over.
Woops, this is in addition to commentary from my SA who said Stuart Vevers is working to refocus on tanned leathers and the basics of which Coach was founded. They'll be going more high end and will produce in smaller quantities so products largely sell out in store and don't end up at outlets. This also includes limiting/eliminating supply at department stores so they aren't forced to give larger discounts (to clear their own inventory).
I'm starting to see this strategy play out IRL to a certain extent. It used to be that I would never have issues getting a bag I liked at the boutique, even if it had been out for a couple months. Now the color I had my eye on has sold out in one style, and I got the last one in stock on the bag I did choose. They've been talking about it for a while, but I think boutique transfers to the outlet do seem like they'll be slowing down.
Also, to address the OPs comments about prices, I don't think they have really gone up as much as it might seem. For the 65th anniversary ten years ago the Legacy bags were around $400-$800 for non-exotics, so not terribly different than some of the 1941 prices now.
Also, to address the OPs comments about prices, I don't think they have really gone up as much as it might seem. For the 65th anniversary ten years ago the Legacy bags were around $400-$800 for non-exotics, so not terribly different than some of the 1941 prices now.
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... and finally closing ugly outlets that - at least for me - cheapen the brand.
Coach completely redesigned their retail store in our city. I bought two pairs of shoes and a toiletry bag after years of avoiding the brand. I love many of its new designs (bye bye logo fabric) and its new strategy is paying off. They had lost me as a client's many many years ago... Now I am definitely giving coach a new look.
I totally agree with you, they just redesigned the flagship and the men's specialty stores here in Vancouver and I'm falling for the brand all over again. Just ordered a few bags from the retail store actually; given a few years ago you wouldn't have caught me dead saying that lol.
I'm most impressed with the new 1941s men's stuff, the bags/backpacks are leather lined as well and feels even more luxurious than its premier brand counterparts at about 1/3 the price point. Granted it doesn't have that made in Italy stamp, but really what isn't made in SE Asia these days before assembly...
Unfortunately the outlets make up a huge amount of the majority of the company's profit--I forget the actual amount but I remember being really surprised that it was so high--so it's unlikely that they'll abandon that market.
I think it's more likely that they'll continue to move away from logo items and try to elevate the offerings at the factory outlet level.
All that aside, I've purchased 3 bags from the 1941 line in the past couple of months after purchasing only one bag in the past 3 years. My husband is quite surprised that I've rediscovered the Coach brand--and probably a little bit relieved after my recent adventures in premier handbag land!
Unfortunately the outlets make up a huge amount of the majority of the company's profit--I forget the actual amount but I remember being really surprised that it was so high--so it's unlikely that they'll abandon that market.
I think it's more likely that they'll continue to move away from logo items and try to elevate the offerings at the factory outlet level.
All that aside, I've purchased 3 bags from the 1941 line in the past couple of months after purchasing only one bag in the past 3 years. My husband is quite surprised that I've rediscovered the Coach brand--and probably a little bit relieved after my recent adventures in premier handbag land!
That's their problem: too many outlets, where people spend their money rather than going to the FP store. And why would they?
Until the outlets are mostly phased out, it will be hard to convince some clients to go back to coach. Yes, the outlets are a huge source of revenue... and yet it's a huge handicap for the brand.