Coach launches budget "Poppy" line

Accessories | Editorial

Coach have launched a budget-conscious line called Poppy, with prices for accessories and handbags ranging from US$48 to US$598 and a pricing centre-of-gravity for handbags of around US$275.

Coach are investing heavily in the US launch and, for the first time, using social media applications Facebook and Twitter as part of their marketing platform which, together with the price point and colourful designs, suggests the range is aimed at the 16-to-25 year old demographic rather than the Coach’s more traditional demographic in their 30s and 40s.

See the collection on the US website: coach.com/poppy-us

Coach was founded in 1941 as a leather-goods workshop in a Manhattan loft and is now a $3.2 billion company (2008 global revenues) with 400 stores world-wide but the brand has been criticised within luxury circles for letting its growth strategy slowly dilute the exclusivity of the brand. The average price of their bags has been steadily decreasing and is planned to continue, with up to 50% of sales in 2010 expected from within US$200-US$300 mark. However, they do still offer some bags at around A$10,000 and even A$20,000 which surely has to qualify as a member of the luxury club?

Careful expansion in key markets, allied to astute brand building and positioning could see the brand hold it’s positioning – such as in Japan where it has a 14 percent share of the imported accessories market, second only to Louis Vuitton. There will also remain a valid place in the ‘luxury mid-market’, or ‘gateway luxury’ as some have termed the concept, particularly at this time in the global economic cycle.

Australia must represent a growth opportunity for Coach, through their appointed distributors DFS. As ever, brand relevance and brand image perception together with product quality and innovation will be the deciders.

Douglas Smith