They. are. back. And thank God! Because they are much more affordable in our world of Birkin this and Kelly that. (Hermes Lingo)
As a 1990’s baby, I remember hitting the Coach store to shop for the hottest new bag and prints. Coach was the Chanel of the 90s and 2000s without the price tag-they were hot! I had every new style to show off to all my friends. Somewhere along the way, Coach began to be too mainstream and “so not cool” anymore. On every resale site, you began to see these once high-value purses sell for 10% of what the buyer purchased it for. It was a sad time…leaving our collections to accumulate dust on the shelves for over a decade—until the glorious and inevitable comeback!
How? Who? What? Where? and Why Did Coach Make a Comeback?!
I have a few answers….
Change in Ownership
New Marketing Strategy
Rebranding
Celebrity Endorsements
Gen Z
New Designs
Affordability
GenZ gives Coach a comeback Moment
One of our newest pieces for sale on our Instagram page: miamibagsllc
In 2017 Coach was bought by Tapestry and this is when the “not so hot” bag began its redemption story. (Side note: did you know that Coach bought Kate Spade and Stuart Weitzmann before being owned by Tapestry?) When Coach announced that they had been acquired and would be identifying as a fashion house by the name of “Tapestry”, there was a lot of negative feedback and “The company’s share fell as much as 3% in early trading” says Fashion Network.
There was so much backlash towards Coach for taking a new direction, but it paid off. With new ownership came many changes. New designs, different textures and patterns, new marketing strategies, and a larger demographic to sell to this time around are a few of the notable changes that were made.
When Coach was hot back in my day, the average buyer was between 20-50. But now, Coach has made their bags cooler and younger by utilizing Tik Tok and Gen-Z tastemakers which has expanded their target market to ages 16-55. Not to mention, that smoking hot Jennifer Lopez Campaign that we all saw—which makes me wonder if Jennifer Lopez single handedly brought Coach back to us?
YSL, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, and Hermes have been dominating the luxury handbag space and conversation for the last 10 years. These are bags that come with a much higher price tag. Coach came back in and is now just as popular, but with a lower price tag. Be prepared in the next year or two to see Coach continue to skyrocket in resale values. WHY?
The stock market and economy are not looking great at the current time. Major brands like Chanel, Hermes, and Dior continue to raise their prices, with customers continuing to buy at inflated prices. This puts us in a bubble. House prices are so high we can’t buy them, vehicles are so limited we can’t have one, and handbag prices continue to go up. So, what’s going to happen when the bubble pops?
Today’s screenshot of the Tapestry-or Coach- Stock and how it’s doing.
Fashion and affordability will reign. There will come a time when we realize how incredibly expensive bags became, and we’ll figure out that they were no longer affordable as the brands increased the prices. So, bags that are selling for 10k will be selling for 6k in a few years. What does that have to do with Coach, you might ask?
While these other brands are tanking- Coach will hold its value. Why? Because Coach isn’t gauging its customers and doing price increases left and right. Coach is for the modern woman who values affordability and quality. So, in summary- don’t fear the Coach bag because the comeback is going to be even more EPIC.