The History of Coach

Since founded in 1941, Coach enjoys great popularity and maintains a profit margin several times higher than competitor designer brands. Nevertheless, not everything goes smoothly for the luxury handbag and accessories manufacturer. Although it did a marvelous feat for so many years, in the middle and late 1990s, Coach witnessed a dramatic recession in sales.

Coach was founded in 1941 by 6 artisans under the name Manhattan Leather Bags. One of the company founders was impressed by the design of a baseball glove and it inspired him to create a handbag with similar attributes. In 1962, Coach hired Bonnie Cashin. Cashin breathed new life into the company. She was considered a pioneer in American sportswear due to her use of industrial hardware and organic materials such as leather, wool and jersey. Riding the success of Cashin's creations, the company gets to one of the top luxury brands. Although the new items add many fashion elements compared with its previous conservative series, the company still runs in the traditional way.

During 70s and 80s, the market demand for Coach Products greatly exceeded the supply. In 1985, Coach became part of Sara Lee and in 1979, Lew Frankfort, who today serves as Coach's CEO, joined the company. Frankfort transformed Coach from a little-known leather goods manufacturer to a world-renowned brand. However, in the middle 90s, because of dramatic changes in working environment, business casual wear was big that time. But Coach still clinged to its outdated goods and did not offer the fashion products, such as leather and fabric bags. As a result, Coach failed to compete with Prada, Gucci and Kate Spade.

Faced with the challenge, Frankfort launched a series of expansions and innovations. He hired the newest designers who breathed new life into the company and changed the image of Coach from a sturdy, basic collection of tan, burgundy, black and navy briefcases, to a hip, stylish collection with new colors and styles every season, which greatly attracted a number of young people. Moreover, in the fashion world full of change, Coach put its new product on the market every year. Meanwhile, the company outsourced the manufacture and concentrated on product design and marketing. Therefore, at the end of 90s, Coach sprang up again.

Thereafter, the annual profits have been soaring. In 2006 its sales reached US$2.1. Keeping pace with the times is the key reason why this company shakes off the image of “only my grandmother buys Coach” and successfully survives in the fickle fashion world with soaring profits.