Coach - Rebranding Case Study

SUCCESSFUL RETAIL REBRANDING Case Study Analysis

Claudia Aguilar, Carissa Hanley, Nicole Guion, Sydney Jones

Table of Contents Background Rebrand Tapestry 5 P’s Concepts & Industry Practices Major Takeaways

BACKGROUND 1941 - Founded in Manhattan, started out as a family owned business.

1965 - Richard Rose joined Coach and he is credited with making Coach a household name after putting the product in department stores across the United States and abroad.

1985 -Coach was sold to Sara Lee Corporation for $30 million 1986 - Coach was operating 12 stores, along with nearly 50 boutiques within larger department stores.

1996 - Reed Krakoff leads design and transforms Coach into a world-wide known brand âž” âž”

Aimed to make Coach product functional, lightweight & stylish Coach became known for its logo-heavy products

2013- Victor Luis took over as chief executive 2014 - Stuart Vevers was appointed Creative Director

REBRAND Mid-1980s company was sold to the Sara Lee Corp., followed by a period of rapid expansion, displaying Coach products in department store shelves across the country.

The brand quickly became known by its heavily monogrammed bags, becoming ubiquitous in American suburbs.

Spending the last three years reinventing themselves, they’ve weaned out customers off ever-growing discounts, pulling out of struggling department stores and phasing out its ubiquitous logo bags.

Profits at Coach nearly doubled in the last years quarter, to $152 million, as part of the company’s aggressive turnaround efforts.

REBRAND

Coach Today When Victor Luis took over in 2013, Coach went through a major transformation.

Millennial consumers had long fallen out of love with the logo-mania of the early 2000s that characterized Coach’s previous success.

Stuart Vevers complemented the brand’s accessories by focusing on a ready-to-wear line that he named Coach 1941, after the year of the company’s founding.

Merchandisers aimed to control Coach’s image in department stores, straying away from those retailers that cut prices on their iconic bags, elevating the brand within fashion’s hierarchy.

Tapestry

Along their reinvention, Coach inc. introduced acquired shoemaker Stuart Weitzman and Kate Spade, a brand popular among millennials.

Famous for its leather goods, they’ve become a holding company of an increasingly ambitious fashion group.

The combined company has cut costs, made a push to grow sales in Asia and backed away from frequent discounting that threatened the three brands’ accessible-luxury status.

“This is a home that is not limited to any category, channel or geography”

Tapestry Coach creative director Stuart Vevers continues his effort to modernise its look and diversify into new product categories.

Oct. 30, company beat Wall Street forecasts with $1.4 billion in revenue in the first quarter of its fiscal year, up 7% from its 59% last year. Tapestry raised its profit outlook for fiscal 2019 to $2.80 per share, up from $2.70.

Coach still makes up 70% of company’s sales. This quarter, both net and comparable sales increased 4% globally.

Efforts to drive further into outerwear, footwear and men’s, where it recently contracted its first global ambassador, Michael B. Jordan. Dec. 8, Coach will stage a dual-gender pre-fall runway show in Shanghai

Product

Signature Swingpack $135: One of the most endearing Some of Coach’s latest styles: “Saddle” in Western design, styles, the bag design offers convenience for the $595; “Saddle” in olive, $395; “Dinky” with tea rose multitasking fashionista on the go applique, $595 each a part of the Icon line.

Leather and canvas or nylon designs from ‘05, ‘07 & ‘06 (L to R). These so-called mixed material bags aren’t as sturdy as their solid leather offerings

The center bag most closely resembles the classic bags. The other two feature embellishments

Presentation The Coach House -

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‘Made to Order’: Customers can customize ‘rogue bag’ with over 9 million different options.

Craftsmanship bar: monogramming, customization, leather care, repair services.

Unique collection exclusive to Coach House.

Property Coach has an international presence Operates through distribution network in NYC, since 2014 Over 987 directly operated stores Recently opened a massive flagship store (The Coach House) on 5th Ave (2016) -”the fullest embodiment of Coach’s new image” The Coach House is also located in London- an area of high international presence

Property

People Partnership with Selena Gomez Coach partnered with Selena Gomez in 2016 to mark its 75 year anniversary.

Gomez is the most followed person on Instagram.

Coach saw a 50% increase in followers year over year and an 81% increase in average likes YoY. Posts featuring Selena.

Coach's stock prices increased 2% the day after Gomez's self-designed bag, the “Selena Grace� handbag, dropped.

People

Partnership with Michael B. Jordan This fall, Coach announced its partnership with Michael B. Jordan, who is the brand’s first global men’s ambassador.

The campaign will feature global advertising campaigns to promote its menswear, accessories, and fragrance lines. The first images are expected to launch in the Spring.

The campaign will also include “special design projects.”

Stuart Vevers said that Michael B. Jordan is cool and authentic, and embodies the Coach guy.

Coach calls him “a long-time friend of the brand who shares Coach‘s belief in the modern American Dream and values of optimism and inclusivity.”

Promotions Reduced in-store promotions.

Customer incentives during holiday seasons Personalization via website Social media involvement: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest Celebrity endorsements and collaborations

In-class to Industry Rebranding -

Saw themselves falling behind, new creative director rebranded the company gaining traction and relevance.

Targeting a new audience/ Influencers -

Known for its older clientele, Coach also now targets a younger, more trendy demographic though new marketing tactics and partnership with influencers.

Improved brand momentum with the Broad Premium consumer, and specifically millennials, as evidenced in the U.S. brand tracking survey

Customer Experience -

Offers personalization in stores now. Store design aimed to be “homey� and welcoming to anyone who comes in - more inclusive to all consumers

Moved focus to ecommerce.

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Pushing online store in response to store closings.

More availability -

Launched ready-to-wear line (Coach 1941) in 2015.

MAJOR TAKEAWAYS Spending the last five years reinventing themselves, they’ve weaned customers reliance on discounted merchandise by decreasing in-store discounts, pulled out of struggling department stores and phased out its ubiquitous logo bags.

They have created a space (the Coach House) that has a tangible, new identity for themselves. New amenities and services in their 3-story, flagship store that invites new and existing customers in.

They successfully reinvigorated the mid-range handbag segment, under the new creative direction of Stuart Vevers which the customer readily embraced.

Drove fashion authority through well-received runway shows and broadened the brand reach through collaborations.

MAJOR TAKEAWAYS SWOT analysis of the Coach brand post re-invention Continued opportunities within the marketing sector, as well as in global expansion

SOURCES https://www.westwoodwestwood.com/culture/style/coach-is-cool/ https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/lifestyle/7989287/selena-gomez-coach-instagram -success https://handbags.lovetoknow.com/Coach_Outlet https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/how-coach-bags-turned-from-coveted-classics-int o-tacky-chaos_us_57cefba7e4b03d2d459676b2 https://fashionista.com/2016/11/coach-house-new-york https://www.regentstreetonline.com/insider/coach-house https://fashionista.com/2015/09/coach-1941-nyfw