Business Analysis: Industry Analysis Of Coach Inc.

Industry Analysis Coach Inc. is a major leader in the luxury handbag market. The company began as a family-run business in 1941. Six artisans handcrafted a variety of leather goods using skills handed down from generation to generation (Coach.com). Coach was first famous for its leather and its production of women 's quality handbags. In 1985 Coach was sold to Sara Lee and during this time experienced rapid expansion. Coach has significantly expanded its product line to not just women 's handbag and accessories but men 's as well. Rather than focusing on just females, they decided to focus on males to potentially expand their customer base and interest new consumers. Coach has incorporated a variety of men 's products, including, men 's bags, …show more content…
The luxury handbag and leather accessories alone accounted for about $28 billion in 2010 (Thompson, C-77). Leading players in terms of annual revenue in the luxury industry include, Cartier, Hermes, Gucci, and Louis Vuitton. The key forces that drive the luxury brands in the industry include, high quality, brand reputation, creative design, and brand loyalty. Luxury brand goods were divided into three main categories in 2011, haute-couture, traditional luxury, and the growing submarket "accessible luxury." Haute-couture presented a very high end custom product offering that catered specifically to the extremely wealthy individuals. Traditional luxury categories were the second segment, these included, fashion design houses such as Prada, Burberry, Hermes, Gucci, Polo Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, and Louis Vuitton. Accessible luxury markets were the third segment in the luxury brand industry, these are luxury goods from players in the industry that created diffusion lines to compete with Coach. The accessible luxury brands offered customers luxury brand items at affordable prices. Brand rareness is another driving force industry, this heavily