Coach

Coach is a fashion brand originated from New York , USA . The company was founded in 1941. It initially produced men's wallets, and now mainly produces women's handbags. Its product line covers men's and women's clothing, shoes, accessories, perfumes, jewelry, sunglasses, etc. The company also owns the shoe brand Stuart Weitzman and the handbag brand Kate Spade .

· Brand History ·

Coach was founded in 1941 in New York, USA . It was originally a family-run workshop called "Gail Leather" located in the 34th Street business district . There were 6 craftsmen in the workshop, specializing in making small leather goods such as men's wallets. Miles Cahn's father was one of the four investors in the company, and he himself joined the workshop in 1946.



Miles Cahn has been in charge of the workshop since 1950. At the suggestion of his wife Lillian Cahn , he tried to make women's handbags with cowhide (cowhide) commonly used in baseball gloves , thus entering the women's fashion industry. The two acquired the company in 1961, officially renamed it "Coach" , and hired Bonnie Cashin as the first fashion designer . The Cashin Carry series was launched the following year .

In the early 1960s, Bonnie Cashin designed a number of classic handbags for Coach, including shoulder bags, clutches with detachable shoulder straps, leather tote bags based on shopping paper bags, etc. She also invented a rotating lock (Turnlock) , which is still widely used in Coach handbags.

After entering the 1970s, Coach launched the Duffle series and the Saddle series , making bucket bags and saddle bags popular fashion items again, and gradually added " COACH" leather tags to all handbags as the brand's most recognizable logo.

In order to diversify its distribution channels, Coach launched a mail-order service and opened brand stores, which drove sales to rise steadily. In 1981, Coach's first flagship store opened on Madison Avenue in New York .

Because no one in the family was willing to inherit the company, Miles & Lillian Cahn sold the company for $30 million in 1985. Sara Lee took over Coach's workshop , six specialty stores and a flagship store, and Lew Frankfort , a former business department executive, was promoted to president of Coach .

Since the late 1980s, Coach has entered a rapid expansion phase, continuously increasing the number of stores in the United States, opening specialty stores and direct sales stores in New York, San Francisco, Denver, Seattle and other places, until 1988, when Coach entered the overseas market for the first time and began to open stores in the UK and Japan.

In order to attract more customers, Coach tried to add more styles to its handbag products; at the same time, it added scarves (1988), outerwear (1992), watches (1998), shoes (1999), jewelry (2001), sunglasses (2003), perfume (2007) and other products.

In 1995, Lewis Frankfort became the executive chairman and CEO of Coach , and the following year, he hired American fashion designer Reed Krakoff as creative director . In 1999, Coach launched the Coach.com website and officially entered the e-commerce field. With the reorganization of Sara Lee's business departments, Coach separated from Sara Lee in 2000 and became an independent listed company .


In 2001, Coach launched the Signature series to commemorate the brand's 60th anniversary. The double "C" print on the handbags is inspired by the brand's initials , which is still the brand's most famous design. In 2008, Coach launched the Madison series , inspired by Madison Avenue , where the Coach flagship store in New York is located. New products include Sabrina handbags and Julianne tote bags .

After entering the 21st century, Coach continued to expand the global market, opening flagship stores in Tokyo, Taiwan, Seoul, Hong Kong, Shanghai and London, and then entering South American countries such as Brazil, Colombia, Panama and Venezuela.

In 2012, Coach launched the Legacy series , reinterpreting many classic handbags from the 1960s. Faced with changes in market consumption habits, Coach embarked on a brand transformation. In 2013, it appointed British fashion designer Stuart Vevers as creative director , and the following year appointed Victor Luis as the new CEO . Coach acquired the shoe brand Stuart Weitzman

in 2015 , and the handbag brand Kate Spade the following year , laying the foundation for brand diversification. In 2017, Coach officially changed its name to "Tapestry" , further confirming the group operation route. By 2018, Coach had a total of 960 directly-operated stores and 13,700 employees worldwide.

·Chronology of major events·