Hmmm . . . although I don't have access to her financial statements (so I could be wrong), I just feel that her brand power has declined. Much of this is based on my unscientific observation of what bags people use and what ends up in the bargain bins of department stores. Being a handbag lover, I always look at people's bags and I just don't see as many people wearing her bags anymore. When she first came out, I saw a lot of people wearing Kate Spade. Now, I'm hard pressed to find a woman on street who wears a Kate Spade bag. Also, I noticed that many of her bags go on sale quite quickly. It could be because she is churning out more bags . . . but really, churning out more bags and selling them at a lower margin isn't consistent with the idea of building a strong luxury brand. Even
Coach isn't doing that right now, as evidenced by their amazing ability to simulataneously increase their volume AND price (a capitalist's dream!) I don't mean to offend any Kate Spade lovers out there, but these are just my two cents.