Interesting Article on Forbes on Coach Sinking North American Sales

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#31
melissatrv said:
I hear you. I think the merchandise that they had out during the holiday season was extremely lackluster. (Where are those Poppy Sequin bags when you need them? :smile1:) Also with Coach being boring now. I know there are HUGE fans of Legacy and Borough bags so I mean no offense but these bags, though classic, are rather plain. You have to admit. Though there are tons of people who like these styles Coach has lost the audience that liked the differentiating factors of the older Madison and Poppy collections. Now Madison and Poppy look like all the other bags, I cannot distinguish one line from the other. Also the quality of the leather has done down. The prices are the same but the leather is thinner and the hardware is lacking. Heck we don't even have a hardware logo anymore!!

And though Coach is betting big on Borough, I think they should have included it in PCE. It is still a higher end bag even with PCE if they are wanting to move that way. Borough launched around the holidays and it would have been a big bang to this launch to include them in a few holiday PCEs. It is obviously impacting their sales as most of their target audience cannot or will not pay $600 for a Coach bag

Sorry I have to throw in their Mini bag focus. I see bags I like but they are either large or Mini. Whatever happened to the small/medium bag??? Or at least alternate and occasionally sell that size in popular styles. Another reason I don't buy anywhere near the volume I had previously.

I used to hate Michael Kors but have been into MK lately. Their Selma bag is flying off the shelves!! Some say it is a copy of the Tanners but there is something about this bags that have the sophisticated look of Sophia look too. And they are not just plain leather with a tassel. They have studs, jewels, embossing, grommets as well as plain styles. Coach used to have this look in Madison and Poppy and I know a lot of people are missing this. Sure keep the more classic styles but include some blingy Madisons and youthful Poppy bags too.

Think about this.....if Coach is having PCEs like crazy, every other week it seems....but the bags in the full price stores are not selling. But two years ago, at the height of the recession, with fewer PCEs, Coach was Wall Street's darling, that tells me that the problem is the bag styles. THAT is where they need to look and invest.



What is the capsule collection you mentioned? The Borough bags?
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YES. THis is what is so disheartening to me. The quality of leather can be disappointing at times for prices that they are asking....I'm strictly talking about the boutique bags, not the MFF. I sometimes think they make it this way figuring, well, if we get FP for it, great! But we'll probably sell it for 25% off or even 50% so lets cheapen the materials down. I know I shouldn't be trying to think Coach's thoughts; it's crazy thing to do.
 
#32
jailnurse93 said:
YES. THis is what is so disheartening to me. The quality of leather can be disappointing at times for prices that they are asking....I'm strictly talking about the boutique bags, not the MFF. I sometimes think they make it this way figuring, well, if we get FP for it, great! But we'll probably sell it for 25% off or even 50% so lets cheapen the materials down. I know I shouldn't be trying to think Coach's thoughts; it's crazy thing to do.
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Yup.
 
#33
These are all great points. Coach's biggest issues seem to be mass deletes only days after their best customers pay FP, and lockouts from the factory. The lockout is an emotional issue at its source; it is not just the loss of sales at the factory, but FP as well -- customers who feel unappreciated at the factory will not turn to FP instead, they will just take their business elsewhere. If Coach wants to recapture reseller business, open the factory to all and people will buy there instead because they can see it, tough it, count on it more than auctions, etc. As for deletes, they would do better having eventual sales in the FP stores, or twice per year mass delete sales of last year's products, rather than shipping off new bags so rapidly. When you want $1k for bags, you have to make your customers feel like they have received something special, not merely like they screwed themselves by being impatient or impulsive.
 
#34
I'm in the minority....but also haven't been "into" Coach bags that long...maybe 2 years! I can get into every FOS sale but rarely do and have bought twice and returned both. My outlet is new, small and I've only been there once. I love the last few seasons of Coach bags...especially the Borough and the Urbane and the large clutches. I don't want a lot of frill or sequins or hardware on my bags. But that's just me. I'm not into MK or Kate Spade....been there and left. Coach is right where I want to be....at least for now.... and if that changes.... so be it. I've been a purse lover all my life and don't see that ever changing.... even if the brand/s I love do! :)
 
#35
I like the Legacy and Classic bags best. That is what I own most of. I do sometimes like Madison. I like Borough but would not buy it because I no longer work and it is too professional looking. I think Michael Kors is boring. I think Kate Spade bags are ugly. I like Dooney &Bourke sometimes, but too heavy. Coach is still one of my favorites. I think the problem is that people move on to the next big fad, and that seems to be Michael Kors. It is new and different for many people. Even the BX at the military bases carry it now in special boutique sections. If I could afford to buy any bag I wanted, I would buy a Mulberry bag or maybe a Hermes Birkin. I hear what you all are saying, but I don't really understand why people are not liking Coach, except for moving on to a new fad.
 
#36
PickyCoachLover said:
I am not surprised in the least, honestly. This new direction they have went in has scared a lot of people away. Including myself and a lot of other long time tPFers.
Juicy Couture has sold out to Kohls (or so I've heard) so if Coach doesn't do something eventually they will be looking to sell out as well. And the articles make a great point about Coachs ambitious price points. I like how now most of their buyers are the $200 or less outlet crowd and they still expect to "sell out" these $7-800 bags. Lol. They might as well be only MFF and never do a front line. And focusing on banning resellers is such a waste of time when they need to be worrying other things. Once someone buys your product they be able to do whatever the heck they want with it. It's just one of those things you can't win.
Just in my opinion, Coach used to be fun and unique even if it was mass produced. Now it's just plain and boring and mass produced. :( I know I have an unpopular view and please don't bite my head off. I used to at one time have 95+ bags, all by Coach.
I have not bought anything new since they changed Madison and I'm still not interested. And I'm not the only one. :(
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It is not just you. I lost interest about four years ago. The Factory Stores turned me off. I hated the fact that they replicated legacy bags with cheaper leather and sold them for half the price. Although I LOVE the styles this year and I am definitely drooling again over some of their latest bags.

When I was in college (gulp over 24 years ago), Coach was not as available and still had a pretty high price point. My mother LOVED Coach and I saved and saved to buy my first one. At the end of the day, Coach is trying to please everyone at every price point and that is just bad marketing. The poppy line? Cute, but why oh why devalue you hard earned brand. The factory store invasion, again, attracting a different market at a lower price point. The company doesn't know who their market is anymore and has lost a bit of their signature style (not signature prints necessarily, but their design).

They need a marketing guru, not necessarily just a designer and a new ceo. They need to figure out who their market is and focus on that target instead of trying to capture a bit of all markets. Especially during an economic climate that is seeing a stark drop in the purchase of luxury goods.

Whew. Sorry. Just my two cents. Clearly I have given this too much thought over the past couple of years. LOL. I have been a Coach fan for a long time and I would like nothing more than for them to make a comeback, produce the quality products they were known for and return to their former place in the handbag market.
 
#37
jailnurse93 said:
YES. THis is what is so disheartening to me. The quality of leather can be disappointing at times for prices that they are asking....I'm strictly talking about the boutique bags, not the MFF. I sometimes think they make it this way figuring, well, if we get FP for it, great! But we'll probably sell it for 25% off or even 50% so lets cheapen the materials down. I know I shouldn't be trying to think Coach's thoughts; it's crazy thing to do.
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Absolutely!!! This is a very short-sighted strategy. I was just thinking as I drove home today that I will wait on a couple of bags and get them at the FS or on Ebay. I can't even believe that is how I am thinking now.
 
#40
Let's not write the obituary yet.

I'm very open to seeing the direction Coach's new design leader and CEO will take the company.

I love that this is a 70 year old American brand that started as a leather crafters loft in NYC and not about an individual named designer. So I'm going to hang in even if I don't like any bags currently (other than Borough and Urbane). I love jewelry and wristlets and etc. It will come around!
 
#42
shminbabe said:
Let's not write the obituary yet.

I'm very open to seeing the direction Coach's new design leader and CEO will take the company.

I love that this is a 70 year old American brand that started as a leather crafters loft in NYC and not about an individual named designer. So I'm going to hang in even if I don't like any bags currently (other than Borough and Urbane). I love jewelry and wristlets and etc. It will come around!
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Yes!
 
#44
shminbabe said:
Let's not write the obituary yet.

I'm very open to seeing the direction Coach's new design leader and CEO will take the company.

I love that this is a 70 year old American brand that started as a leather crafters loft in NYC and not about an individual named designer. So I'm going to hang in even if I don't like any bags currently (other than Borough and Urbane). I love jewelry and wristlets and etc. It will come around!
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I like the upbeat reminders here about Coach overall. I hope as you say that it will come around.

So far, lots of posts have zeroed in on microeconomic issues that Coach clearly faces. I'll stake a macroeconomic perspective here for a moment.

We hear lots nowadays about the growing divide between "haves" and "have nots." And it surely appears that the Great Recession has contributed greatly to this outcome that's unfolding. Anyway, over the past 5-6 years, we've seen many a place go under or file for reorganization, or file bankruptcy; and then, we see those that are hanging in there....or barely so. Some in the middle class are struggling to stay in their place, at risk for falling. And concomitantly, retailers are going with them. JC Penny appears to be a "barely hanging in there" retailer. The demographics of the mainstream shopper there hint towards how those shoppers can't buy like they used to...or at all. It's not only online shopping , per se, that's heading them into the tougher times they faced and still do face. The JCP CEO who tried to bring them back didn't achieve success; he got voted out. All his fault? I dare say, no. That is, It also appears to be an issue of how the loyal JC Penny shopper may want to remain a loyal shopper , but can't. In this way, I see yet another comparison to Coach. Some of the loyal shoppers may no longer be able to buy Coach, even if they still wish to do so. Just as Tweeter had happen...or Applebee's, or Bennigans, or Crabtree and Evelyn (one of few who emerged from bankruptcy successfully) and now we hear how Red Lobster is an albatross and in jeopardy.... The list of middle income "affordable fancy" places that have gone under or struggle perilously now is long. Frighteningly long.

And so what might Coach also be grappling with? Perhaps how to keep or bring those who can still afford to purchase Coach to find them "sexy" and upscale. And frankly, some from this demographic pool see Coach as a "demotion" UNLESS Coach ups its game and starts to do as the Romans do. That is, create and price products that will appeal to this demographic that don't have Coach on their radar, unless really really really compelled to do so.

In sum, for Coach to try and hang on to some of its loyal shoppers is to some extent a lost cause. Some of those shoppers can't shop at all at Coach anymore. Or at best, not very often. Competitors are trying hard to publish Coach's obituary, and Coach has no choice but to send off the women and kids into row boats, metaphorically speaking. As much as they may appreciate the customer base they've amassed, even in the past decade, it's doubtful that profit margins will let them do much more than hope they are strong swimmers and make it to shore, sooner or later, back to their stores.

(Sidebar--this is simply a macroeconomic speculation. I'm not referring to tpf membership here...but rather a wide, large international customer base that affects Coach's margins and bottom line)
 
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#45
KittyKwilter said:
I like the Legacy and Classic bags best. That is what I own most of. I do sometimes like Madison. I like Borough but would not buy it because I no longer work and it is too professional looking. I think Michael Kors is boring. I think Kate Spade bags are ugly. I like Dooney &Bourke sometimes, but too heavy. Coach is still one of my favorites. I think the problem is that people move on to the next big fad, and that seems to be Michael Kors. It is new and different for many people. Even the BX at the military bases carry it now in special boutique sections. If I could afford to buy any bag I wanted, I would buy a Mulberry bag or maybe a Hermes Birkin. I hear what you all are saying, but I don't really understand why people are not liking Coach, except for moving on to a new fad.
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This is what I think too. People are just wanting to be seen with the next new big thing which seems to be MK. I was at the mall this weekend and the Coach section of the dept stores was like a ghost town because everyone was crowded around the MK section like it was a bar at a nightclub. And those bags aren't any better than Coach I don't think. And at my grocery store it used to be Coach sig every other person and then almost over night all the Cs have been replaced with MK. It's cyclical like everything else. Though I do think that what other people are saying about silly marketing moves is part of it as well.
 
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