News: Coach To Launch Ready-To-Wear?

[bry_dee]

Coach To Launch Ready-To-Wear?

Consider this a warning Michael Kors, Tory Burch: Coach is coming for you.

Or they’re trying to anyway.

The handbag and accessories titan is getting a makeover–and making a play for the lifestyle sector of the market, currently dominated by Burch and Kors, is part of their new strategy, WWD is reporting.

Up until recently, Coach, founded in 1941, has remained focused on developing their affordable luxury handbag business, with purses hovering at the $300 mark, and has repeatedly denied that they would consider a foray into womenswear ready-to-wear. But that could all be changing now.

“The reality is that the marketplace has shifted,” chairman and chief executive officer Lew Frankfort told WWD. “We’re responding transformationally to take advantage of the opportunity. It’s not as if we’re static.”

More of the article here: http://fashionista.com/2013/01/could-coach-be-the-next-michael-kors/


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This is interesting and I'm curious on what image a Coach woman (or man, if they were to make collections for both) they will aim to portray. Hmmm... But hopefully, no hullahoop-Coach bag in the first collection. JK.

 

[ziztur]

Well, this part of the article made me a little sad:

Coach is repositioning itself as a lifestyle brand, and increasing the price points on their handbags to above the $300 mark.

So, Coach wants to reposition itself by, among other things, charging more for handbags. Will they also increase the quality and craftsmanship of their bags as well? Do they think that more people will covet their bags if the bags cost more? That more people will buy said bags?

I think if they charges more for bags in the boutiques, that would drive sales in the outlets... which the outlets are more profitable than the boutiques anyway...

 

[albeli]

I think if they charges more for bags in the boutiques, that would drive sales in the outlets... which the outlets are more profitable than the boutiques anyway...

MFF is what's keeping them from being taken seriously as a luxury brand. They can't expand their market and become luxury until they eliminate MMF or scale it back significantly.

 

[MiaBorsa]

MFF is their bread and butter. They will never scale it back because it's the cash cow.

 

[albeli]

MFF is their bread and butter. They will never scale it back because it's the cash cow.

And therefore, their efforts to be known as a luxury lifestyle brand will fail.

 

[TooManyWantMore]

Exciting news! Not the higher prices , but new stuff would be cool!

The saddest thing about the outlets to me is that a lot of them end up on the bay. Some people don't live close to a Coach store or outlet and don't really know the difference. They see an authentic Coach bag on the bay 'new with tags' and think they are getting a great deal on a FP bag. In reality they are overpaying for a MFF bag. I'm originally from a small town in NC where there is no Coach store or factory store closer than a 1.5 hour drive. Most of the people from my hometown don't explore much and only shop locally or online. I know many people that have the MFF bags, that they bought overpriced on the bay and it makes me so mad every time I see it. I love the outlets and the possibility of finding a FP delete (usually the reason why I'm there). But I do hate what consumers are doing with the products.

 

[MiaBorsa]

And therefore, their efforts to be known as a luxury lifestyle brand will fail.

I guess it depends on your definition of fail; plenty of people consider Coach a lux brand and the outlets haven't diluted that. I'm sure they are more interested in the bottom line anyhow.

 

[albeli]

Aside from e$ay sales of MFF items talking advantage of people who don't know better, I just don't care for MFF because the items are obviously of a lesser quality.

I do like that you can occasionally find awesome deletes at the FS.

 

[MiaBorsa]

Exciting news! Not the higher prices , but new stuff would be cool!

The saddest thing about the outlets to me is that a lot of them end up on the bay. Some people don't live close to a Coach store or outlet and don't really know the difference. They see an authentic Coach bag on the bay 'new with tags' and think they are getting a great deal on a FP bag. In reality they are overpaying for a MFF bag. I'm originally from a small town in NC where there is no Coach store or factory store closer than a 1.5 hour drive. Most of the people from my hometown don't explore much and only shop locally or online. I know many people that have the MFF bags, that they bought overpriced on the bay and it makes me so mad every time I see it. I love the outlets and the possibility of finding a FP delete (usually the reason why I'm there). But I do hate what consumers are doing with the products.

I think it has been said on here before, but the typical MFF buyer doesn't know the difference and believes that they are getting a "$498" handbag for $129 (or whatever) at the outlet store. Ebay sellers provide a service...they do all the footwork, listing, packing and shipping, lol. (And no, I don't sell on Ebay. ) I guess my point is, if a buyer is happy with their purchase then that's what matters.

 

[Jesssh]

I would like to see more coat options: affordable leather jackets (?) and I really liked the short trench when I tried it on - they just didn't have the color I needed.

 

[ziztur]

I agree on the jackets front. I am totally in love with the suede full length trench but at $1498, it costs as much as a month's mortgage.

 

[ophousewife]

I cant take coach seriously anymore. The mff stuff is getting out of hand, it's absolutely everywhere and is diluting the luxury feel of the brand. I just don't see coach competing as a lux brand. Hiking the prices on fp bags is going to do nothing but piss off the loyal coachies who actually buy with pce. I'm becoming so disenchanted with coach lately. It's frustrating to see them trying to establish the brand as something greater when they continue to pump out these mff bags that infest the market. Yes the outlets serve a purpose, but that purpose is lost and the outlets are becoming a joke. Sorry for the rant but coach has been rubbing me the wrong way for a while and I'm actually considering jumping ship and switching to another brand.

 

[albeli]

I would like to see more coat options: affordable leather jackets (?) and I really liked the short trench when I tried it on - they just didn't have the color I needed.

I agree on the jackets front. I am totally in love with the suede full length trench but at $1498, it costs as much as a month's mortgage.

Some of their jackets and coats are lovely, but aren't offered in petite sizing.

I cant take coach seriously anymore. The mff stuff is getting out of hand, it's absolutely everywhere and is diluting the luxury feel of the brand. I just don't see coach competing as a lux brand. Hiking the prices on fp bags is going to do nothing but piss off the loyal coachies who actually buy with pce. I'm becoming so disenchanted with coach lately. It's frustrating to see them trying to establish the brand as something greater when they continue to pump out these mff bags that infest the market. Yes the outlets serve a purpose, but that purpose is lost and the outlets are becoming a joke. Sorry for the rant but coach has been rubbing me the wrong way for a while and I'm actually considering jumping ship and switching to another brand.

This is what I was talking about, exactly.

I consider myself a relatively long time Coach fan (since they still had the classic Coach look and didn't have to tell people it was the classic Coach look). The MFF stuff has really diluted their image.

 

[sanatty]

And therefore, their efforts to be known as a luxury lifestyle brand will fail.

IDK, I'm not quite sure. Think of the profits made off MFF as the "ammunition" to use to go after MK and TB, which are much smaller businesses with much smaller profit margins. As Coach frequently states, the FP and MFF customer are two totally different people (aside from the savvy ladies and gents on tPF who go back and forth in search of the best value on FP deletes). Thus, I just don't think that the FP customer, who has stood by Coach despite the rise of MFF over the past 1/2 decade or so, will be less inclined to buy a FP pret-a-porter line. I do think they need to calm down on the weird pricing (which could allienate fervent fans, such as those on tPF) where you can simultaneously buy the same bag for 4 different prices depending on FS, FOS, FP and PCE pricing at the time. I also think they should either slow down the pace of FP deletes (hold for 6 months) or, alternatively, stock the FS with MFF only. But, even without those changes, I don't see MFF impacting the success of their foray into pret-a-porter.

 

[sanatty]

I cant take coach seriously anymore. The mff stuff is getting out of hand, it's absolutely everywhere and is diluting the luxury feel of the brand. I just don't see coach competing as a lux brand. Hiking the prices on fp bags is going to do nothing but piss off the loyal coachies who actually buy with pce. I'm becoming so disenchanted with coach lately. It's frustrating to see them trying to establish the brand as something greater when they continue to pump out these mff bags that infest the market. Yes the outlets serve a purpose, but that purpose is lost and the outlets are becoming a joke. Sorry for the rant but coach has been rubbing me the wrong way for a while and I'm actually considering jumping ship and switching to another brand.

You have to remember you're a very informed consumer, fully aware of the difference between MFF and FP and know all the nonsense about the pricing hijinks (where we can buy the same bag at four different prices at the same time depending on if we buy at FS, FOS, FP or FP with PCE). Most people are not so well informed and think that $198 MFF bag is really worth $498. Since this is the vast majority of buyers, they have no concept of brand dilution. As an example, my friend is French (and very fashionable/knowledgeable - like a tPF'er more so than the average consumer - well informed) and she looks down on LV because it's very accessible and inexpensive in France (30% or so less than US and much, much less than Asia) - everyone carries LV. What is strange is that she has a higher opinion of Coach and other American brands like Ralph Lauren, TB, etc. because they're more expensive and less accessible in her home country. I think it's an impression thing amongst the well-informed and/or fashionista set, which (although they set trends to some extent) are not the market that any manufacturer of pret-a-porter line designs for.