Case Analysis1
Market Opportunity Analysis: Coach Inc.: Is its Advantage in Luxury Handbags Sustainable?
These days, the relative hot discussion never fails to fascinate people whether Coach Company’s advantage in luxury handbags is sustainable. Considering the current situation that Coach is in and the new strategy that Coach will take, we believe that Coach’s advantage in Luxury handbags will be sustainable. Coach is a large, American luxury handbags-made company. In this article, we will first tell some beautiful stories on the background of coach. For another, we will analysis the reason why its advantage is sustainable depending on 4Ps theory. In the end we feel obliged to give some recommendations based on our analysis.
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But now, there are some of the luxury goods called accessible luxury, this kind of luxury specifically targeted the middle income consumers. Coach is one of these companies. There is no denying the fact that 4Ps theory is really important in marketing. The luxury goods industry also has competition. If we want to analysis the advantage in this industry, the Price, Place, Product and Promotion are the key words. The price can choose the different income class. The place directly determines the net sale. The product is the basically point for consumers to decide their purchase. The promotion is the basically way to increase the net sale. In luxury goods industry, the product was the most critical competitive advantage, but now the place and price has become increasingly important.
Product: Just like Coach’s handbags, Coach had famous for produce luxury leather products in the past, but now, the leather accessories by matching key luxury rivals on quality and styling is the key point to get the advantage in product.
Price: Starting at the new CEO Lew Frankfort came, Coach tried to position in the accessible luxury and use more outsourcing agreements to cut the cost. So another “P”, price become much more important. The price neither expensive nor cheap is suitable for middle-class consumer. Not only did Coach's $200-$500 handbags appeal to middle income consumers wanting a taste of luxury, but
Elizabeth Proctor is a developing character throughout the movie because, when the movie begins she more of this quiet, sophisticated, well behaved woman who is very loyal and true to her word and has never told a lie in her life. Goody Proctor in my opinion didn’t really change until the end of the movie when I thought she would dish John Proctor because of his affair with Abigail but she is loving and forgiving which a side I never expected to see. Abigail in my opinion is fully the blame of how all this started in the first place.
The luxury market is growing fast in China and India due to the rapidly increasing wealth levels and standard of living gains. Coach must keep in mind the different cultural backgrounds of each country and take that into account when designing and marketing new products and lines.
Coach is an American New York based company competing in the clothing sector of the consumer goods industry. Its products include leather goods for both men and women. Through exceptional customer service the company maintains and builds a loyal and dependable clientele. Unique designs and branding has distinguished the company from its peers. Peers include but not limited to L Brands Incorporated, PVH Corp., Ralph Lauren Corp., Tiffany & Co., VF Corp., Estee Lauder Incorporated, Kate Spade & Co., Abercrombie & Fitch and Michael Kors Holdings Limited. From fragrances, sunglasses, outerwear, travel bags, men’s belts, wallets and gloves the company has strategically remained relevant in the market place. Coach has been profoundly involved in increasing its global presence in the Asian markets.
Growth has been fueled by Coach’s niche as being ‘accessible luxury’. While Coach does not have the prices of most of its high-end competition, it is regarded throughout the industry, and most importantly by consumers, as being equal in quality to much more expensive brands.
Nightingale Square, had a Parks and Recreation with multiple educational programs, including Swimming Lessons, Nutritional Courses, Gardening Courses, Kids Summer Program, City Sports Leagues, Adult Fitness Courses and After School Program. They also kept track of the Parks/Recs Budget Percentages, which last year broke down into: Other was 10%, Facilities were 20%, while Parks and Programs were 35% each. In addition, this facility also tracked the Percentage of Most Common Park Complaints, which included: Crime, Park Locations, Drugs, Stray Animals, Homeless Population, and Park Cleanliness. Furthermore, the last information portrayed was the Common Park Citations which were: Trespassing After Hours 31%, Violent Crimes 24%, Intoxication or Public Drug Use 16%, Littering 11%, Prostitution 9%, Selling without a
Coach is the manufacturer of a collection of handcrafted leather goods that are considered high in quality and unique in craftsmanship. Coach strives on their continued high standards that are required for the materials and workmanship that go into their handbags. The Coach brand is attributed their reputation and is considered one of the leading high-end handbag provider. The Coach brand is considered a “unique combination of their original American attitude and design, their heritage of fine leather goods and custom fabrics, their superior product quality and durability and commitment to customer service” (Coach Company Profile, n.d.). Coach has materialized as one of America's distinguished designers and manufacturer of fine handbags for women. The Coach brand has been developed over time from the signature styles and unique character that the handbags posses. (Corkindale, 2008).
In addition, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Lew Frankfort, said that the company decreased the overall prices of their products sold in retail stores by 10%~15% through 2010 (Made-for-outlet goods to diminish in Coach stores, 2009), and their factory stores priced products based on their retail stores. Therefore, we can use this rate to determine the change rate in handbag pricing sold in these two different stores to analyze the price elasticity.
Two threats that Coach and other luxury goods industries face are counterfeiting and the growing demand for luxury goods in emerging markets. An estimated amount of $300-$600 billion worth of counterfeit goods has been sold throughout the world (Thompson A., Peteraf, Gamble, & Strickland, 2014). Fake and knockoff brands have been an ongoing threat for the luxury goods industry since the mid-2000s. Many companies have been teaming up to develop practices for measuring and implementing piracy enforcement. Because counterfeiting has become so prevalent, many luxury brands have found this strategy to be financially and operationally beneficial.
With an increase awareness of animal cruelty and environmental issues, the luxury goods industry should be familiar with the ecological concerns. Ecological trends could influence consumers purchase decisions as well as the perception of the brand.
Key managers that can run each business independently but with a group vision are also part of the equation. Additionally the luxury industry is strongly dependent on tourism which is influenced by economy trends. The 9-11 events and the global economy slowdown have had a great impact on the industry. Finally huge investments were done to win strategic position, having an important impact on revenues. Appendix 5 is an example of the proportion of cost and impact on revenues and the stock performance.
Coach Inc. is one of the dominating brands that are in the leading position of the affordable-luxury handbag market in relations to the overall annual sales results, but at the same time it faces harsh rivalry from its competitors. Some of the direct competitors in the North American market, such as for example Michael Kors or Kate Spade, have seen a drastic increase in popularity as of late, giving rise of concerns over Coach’s future market share. At the same time, Coach has strug-gled alot to compete against many of the leading European fashion companies such as Salvatore Ferragamo, Armani, Versace, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Longchamp. The
On a flight from Paris to London, Hermès’ chief executive Jean-Louis Dumas had the privilege in sitting next to actress Jane Birkin in 1981. She had this old, straw travelling bag and she decided to place it in the overhead compartment of her seat when everything inside fell out and the bag itself because history. Jane explained to Jean-Louis how difficult it was for her to find the perfect leather purse, but had no luck. That’s when in 1984, Jean-Louis designed a black supple leather bag for Jane, and named it “The Birkin Bag”. It became a popular status symbol within the media eye. These beautiful and personal accessory of luggage are handmade and are known as a fashion symbol of wealth due to the high pricing and usage of celebrities. The
The following case analysis will assess Coach Inc. and its strategy in the accessible luxury brand goods market. The coach strategy focuses on its luxury rivals in matching key quality styles while offering it at a cheaper price. The company offers most products at a 50% off discount price less than other brands which gives them a competitive advantage pertaining to its customer base. Coach marketed its products to middle –income consumers desiring taste of luxury, but also affluent and wealthy consumers with means to spend considerably more on a handbag (Gamble, 2012. P.C-73) .The Company also has several other strategies such as to increase global distribution, improve same store sales productivity and continue its multi-channel business model which includes indirect whole sales to third party retailers but also focuses on direct consumer sales. Coach has done well in the luxury goods industry but the companies profit margin is still below the levels achieved prior to the onset of a slowing economy in 2007 ( Gamble, 2012. P.C-73.The Company had experienced a decline in sales as they are unsure if the company recent growth could remain constant and maintain their competitive advantage with other successful luxury lines Michael Kors, Salvatore Ferragamo, Prada and Dolce & Gabbana.
The fashion industry is very competitive. Company that venture in fashion should therefore have a proper marketing strategies that will make it have competitive advantage over the other companies. Most companies engaging in fashion have therefore turned to luxury brands being that there is global interest in fashion. Based on the environment that the businesses operate, the target markets and product attributes as well as marketing methods, the companies have embraced luxury brand management and fashion marketing strategies that have made them be on top of the fashion industry. This paper looks
(1) We intend to source quality luxury goods of all type a huge diversity of them. (2) We also intend to provide first-rate and outstanding customer