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Coach Inc. is an American leather goods company. more...

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Coach began as a family-owned business in a loft in Manhattan, New York in 1941. It is famous for ladies' handbags, as well as items for both men and women, such as luggage, briefcases, wallets, and other accessories (belts, shoes, silk scarves, umbrellas, sunglasses, key chains, etc.). Coach also offers watches, footwear, and office furniture.

Coach leather products tend to be somewhat expensive, but very well-made, using a thick, supple, high-quality leather that obtains a patina with age, and sturdy metal rivets and hardware (often solid brass). The company also provides leather care products for their items. Coach leather goods often last 15 years or more with proper care, and indeed, some of the original Coach bags from the 1940s are known to be intact and in regular use. One of the hallmarks of the Coach company is their policy which states that any Coach product may be repaired for the life of the product by simply shipping it back to the home office for a nominal fee, with a note or letter stating the problem.

A curious characteristic of the company is its very high profit margins, which are several times higher than its competitors. Presumably, this is due to the fact that among high-end leather goods, Coach is somewhat of an oddity with its long production runs (the number of items of each design that are produced). With longer production runs, Coach is able to take better advantage of economies of scale than its higher priced and less profitable counterparts. Further, Coach utilizes lower-cost production facilities in developing countries such as China and the Dominican Republic. Currently, there are over 300 Coach stores in the United States. Business analysts also attribute the continuing success of Coach to the fact that it has found a place in the niche market known as 'affordable luxury,' wherein a brand is recognizable as a luxury product but is priced such that it is accessible to the budget conscious.

Overseas sales for the American leather company have also remained strong, especially in the Japanese market. Its main competition in Asia is Louis Vuitton, the top seller of women's luxury handbags. Coach also operates nearly 200 locations in 19 countries outside of the United States.

Other competitors include privately held companies such as Dooney & Bourke, Kate Spade, and Michael Kors.

In 1985 Coach was purchased by the Sara Lee Corporation. By October of 2000, Coach had its initial public offering and became a public traded company listed on the NYSE under symbol COH. Since this purchase the company has departed from its small selection of painstakingly-crafted items to include "fashion" items. While this has made the company more robust financially, some of the old standby items have become more difficult to find, alienating some of its loyal customers. There has recently been a reintroduction of "classic" handbags and purses to address this matter. The company continues to expand its offerings of newer items.