Background in Brief: Coach was first established in 1941, as a small family run leather goods manufacturing business. Over time Coach became recognized as a premium brand that provided superior quality leather goods in classic styles and in the 1980`s it opened exclusive Coach retail stores. Coach was sold to Sara Lee in 1985 and experienced rapid expansion. Coach`s product portfolio was expanded to include, accessories, luggage and briefcases and many more exclusive Coach stores and Boutiques were opened. By the late 1980`s there were 12 exclusive Coach retail stores as well as approximately 50 boutiques selling Coach products within lager department stores. While Coach initially grew it started to lag behind its competitors in terms of trendiness and sales began to decline. In 1996 Krakoff joined Coach and he was instrumental in positioning Coach as an 'accessible luxury brand`` for it was understood that price was a source of competitive advantage for the brand in the luxury market. In October 2000, Coach went public under the name of Coach Inc. By 2005 Coach`s revenues tripled and their share price increased more than 900 % since their IPO in 2000.
The Organization Today: Coach is one of the most recognized fine accessories brands in the U.S. and in targeted international markets. Coach is a leading American marketer of fine accessories and gifts for women and men. Their product offerings include women’s and men’s bags, accessories, business cases, footwear, jewelry, sun wear, travel bags, watches and fragrance. Coach’s distribution strategy is multi-channel. Coach operates in two segments: Direct-to-Consumer and Indirect. The Direct-to-Consumer segment includes sales to consumers through Company-operated stores in North America, Japan, Hong Kong, Macau, mainland China, Singapore, Taiwan and the Internet. The Indirect segment includes sales to wholesale customers in over 20 countries, including the United States; royalties are