“The Comeback Kid”: COACH and their Recipe for Success (Twice)

By Maddie Juarez and Lauren Poehling

Depending on who you talk to, someone’s thoughts about COACH vary widely- a nostalgic, swanky “it-girl” brand or suburban, overbranded, cheapened logomania? If you had asked the average consumer in the early 2000’s, or nowadays, you’d probably get the first answer. However, asking a fashion-savvy shopper in the mid 2000’s-2010’s would have gotten you the second response. Why? How has such a prominent brand changed positively, negatively, then positively again in shoppers’ minds? To understand one of the biggest comebacks in recent luxury fashion, we will examine some of Coach’s winning strategies that have helped them succeed and redeem themselves in the minds of fashionistas worldwide. 

To give a rough timeline, Coach was originally founded in 1941 as a family-owned workshop of artisans with a focus on quality leather making methods handed down from generations past. They took special note of how the leather used to make baseball gloves actually become stronger, more flexible, and pleasant with age and use and wanted the same durable quality for their leather goods. Beginning in the 1960’s, Coach become a department store powerhouse with strong management and continued to reach its full potential, most notably when we arrive to the early 2000’s. With a strong pop–culture focus on finding the next “it-bag,” Coach was in the running with its styles on the biggest celebrities at the time like Hilary Duff, Ashley Tisdale, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Zoe Kravitz all rocking a purse from Coach’s Signature Collection that debuted in 2001. Coach was at its cultural peak, and with a peak all things must decline. Over the coming years, Coach’s sales declined by almost $200 million dollars and their bags quickly followed the business path that Michael Kors is currently experiencing in the consumer markets: once-popular luxury that became overloaded with a suburban brand image, excessive logomania, and generous discounting. Coach fell out of touch with the modern shopper. Coach seemed to be on its way out when they received their first sign of better times to come: Stuart Vevers. Vevers was appointed as Coach’s executive creative director in 2013 with a mission in mind: revive the brand with a newfound youthful, trend-driven spirit. Since then, Coach has indeed been known as the “comeback kid” with Vevers’ creative and ultimately successful strategies.

The Pillow Tabby bag has been one of the success stories in Coach’s comeback. Vevers spent a few years working through designs that would bring Coach back from the fashion graveyard it found itself in. They key to this was coming back to its Y2K roots as the owner of the affordable luxury “it-bag,” which is exactly what the Pillow Tabby became. It maintained the perfect balance, both classically coach in silhouette and revolutionary in the introduction of pillowy, soft looking leather to the Coach brand. The pillow leather look of the Bottega Veneta Pouch, which costs thousands was brought to the average consumer throught the Pillow Tabby. Coming in a variety of fun and neutral colors also allowed this bag to rise to the top, fitting a variety of personal styles and occasions.

Image: Coach

This bag owes the majority of its success not to traditional marketing, but to personal users who have shown thier bags on social media platforms like TikTok. It is ironic that Vevers revitalized the brand to stand for exactly what it once did, affordable, on-trend luxury.

Coach’s “Swinger Bag” has also been a notable (and more nostalgic) bag making a resurgence among a new audience. With its signature logo print, but with its notably classy and subdued rebranding, the Swinger has been a commodity at Coach’s retail stores, online site, and even resale sites like Depop and eBay. Gen-Z has latched onto a bag once quintessentially for the early 2000’s, with the help of enlisting Paris Hilton to become the face of the Swinger Bag 2020 campaign. With a star-studded lineup including Hilton, Kim Petras, and Rickey Thompson, and the already surging revival of anything and everything Y2K,  it was inevitable the bag would find a new home after all this time among a fresh demographic.

Image: Coach

Another understated luxe item taking the internet by storm is Coach’s “Bandit” shoulder bag. Its sleek silhouette serves as contrast to the logomania chaos Coach fell into in the 2010’s; the bag is polished and can be perfectly paired with a high couture outfit or a dressed-down errand run. It’s not overly flashy, nor does it take away from the accent of whatever statement you may choose to make with an outfit, making it the perfect affordable luxury “buy” from their Fall 2022 collection.

Image: Coach

In addition to Coach’s innovative styles, they are also revolutionizing the game in terms of price. With new demands among consumers, Americans are no longer as eager to purchase the classic “it-bags” at their ticket price: the iconic Dior “Saddle Bag” goes for $4,200, the Goyard “Artois PM” goes for around $3,000, etc. The classic it-bag is no longer in touch with the new price-conscious saver weary of an upcoming recession. Coach’s price points offer a solution to this issue: with price points around $295-500, their bags aren’t unrealistically expensive for the fashionista willing to splurge yet also not too discounted to dilute the market with Coach designs. Coach also offers their COACH (Re)Loved program that allows buying and selling of their vintage used handbags at a more affordable price and to reduce fashion waste. Shoppers can buy vintage Coach, “Coach Remade” (pre-owned bags deconstructed and remade into new designs), “Coach Restored” (pre-owned bags touched up to mint condition), and “Coach Upcrafted” (gently used bags reinvented by craftspeople into one-of-a-kind designs) through the (Re)LOVED site. 

Vevers’ vision for a revitalized, youthful Coach has been no stranger to including celebrity cameos to execute this mission. Part of what has made their it-bag marketing so successful is their social media marketing. When Vevers originally took his position, one of his first major moves was appointing Selena Gomez as a brand ambassador. With her booming popularity at the time, and Coach’s gradual re-entry into the pop culture scene, Gomez became such a successful brand promoter that she ended up releasing multiple collaboration collections with Coach: “Coach x Selena Gomez.” The Pillow Tabby gained significant traction after seeing a large push on TikTok; coupled with Jennifer Lopez as the Pillow Tabby campaign ambassador, this bag skyrocketed in popularity. In the menswear scene, Michael B. Jordan and his campaign with Coach also brought attention to a typically underlooked part of the Coach purse powerhouse.

Additionally, Megan Thee Stallion’s recent campaign with Coach allowed the brand to take a fun, lighthearted reexamination of luxewear with her spunky and bright cover images. Including down-to-earth, culturally relevant, and well-liked celebrities in their brand image is one of Coach’s strongest ways to keep a positive reputation in the public eye. Strategies like these allow the brand to remain in touch with Gen-Z and the modern, conscious shopper.

Image: PEOPLE

Coach truly did the impossible, revitalizing a brand that was left for dead on the shelves of thrift stores and in the closets of those who grew up in the early 2000’s. Taking nods from other brands was important, but Coach maintained the same iconic accessibility that they became known for 20 years ago. The revitalization was strategic, and set a trajectory for Coach to stay relevant for the foreseeable future.