Chapter 18 · Social Media and Marketing

 Social media plays a big role in the 21st century; it  has changed the way we get and share information, the way we communicate and the way we get our opinions heard.

 With the hundreds of millions of users on Facebook, the site can be the third largest in the world and the  hundreds of millions of active users on twitter post an average of a billion tweets. This "exponentially  leverages word of mouth" and it is important for marketers to take advantage of social media to advertise products.

Coach has seized the opportunity to communicate with customers through social media, and the company has active accounts on twitter, instagram, and facebook. From there, Coach posts updates on the latest collections and shares images with followers. Additionally, Coach allows consumers to subscribe to email updates and their website can be accessed from a smartphone. Since virtually anything can be viewed on a smartphone, Coach has also utilized YouTube to showcase short videos featuring the latest products. The company's channel has over 55 thousand subscribers. 

Left: Coach's twitter account.
Middle: Coach's instagram.
Right: Coach's facebook account, with 4.3 million likes.

Coach engages with customers over twitter, and those with any questions regarding a product can tweet the company using the handle: @Coach. The account is monitored, and a representative will reply to customers needing assistance regarding a product, whether it needs repair or tips on cleaning. Although customers get a reply, the replies are often received a day later, and some up to five days later. If Coach plans on using social media as a way of connecting with customers, they need to establish a better way of helping customers because most replies sound generic and insincere. This may give off the impression that the customer is not valued, and those who don't have a strong sense of brand loyalty will go elsewhere.

Chapter 10 · Product Concepts

Coach advertisement in the '60's.

Founded in 1941 in Manhattan, Coach has been providing products of "distinctive design, quality, function and durability" for over 70 years. True to their origins, Coach's products continue to be handcrafted from the finest textiles but rather than handcrafting products from a Manhattan loft, Coach now has manufacturing facilities in 16 countries. 

The company has come a long way since then, and they were helped greatly by Bonnie Cashin. Hired in 1961, Cashin worked to "revolutionize the product's design." The features of Coach bags such as the signature Coach toggle were Cashin's idea, as were the turn-key fobs. She often sketched the women she was designing for, calling her a "reader and a listener and a traveler." Bonnie Cashin did do what she intended, and revolutionized not only the company's handbags by including bright colors, but the industry itself. Bonnie Cashin is credited for giving Coach its iconic look. In 1968, Bonnie Cashin was awarded the 

American Handbag Designer Award by Leather Industries of America.

In addition to revolutionizing the industry, Cashin also designed the Coach logo; the classic horse and carriage symbolizes "luxury, elegance, social status, and royal dignity." Also, the "C" seen on Coach signature bags creates brand recognition.

Bonnie's sketches.

Since it's conception in 1941, Coach has created the following collections:

1. The Borough

2. The Urbane

3. Madison

4. Legacy

5. Poppy

6. City Tote

7. Coach Classics

Left: Legacy Collection
Right: Madison Collection

The number of bags within the collections vary. For example, the Legacy Collection, which is inspired by the iconic designs from the Coach archives, features 125 handbags in timeliness shapes, modern color, and classic hardware. The Madison Collection on the other hand (named after the elegant, boutique-lined avenue in New York City), has 148 handbags in sophisticated silhouettes, striking hardware, and modern luxury of textured Italian leather.

Evidently, the company offers many products for customers to choose  from. If you're looking for playful, energetic, and youthful, the Poppy Collection is where to shop. Modern luxury can be found in Madison, iconic in Legacy, and versatility in the Borough Collection. Most of Coach's collections feature "sophisticated" styles.

In terms of packaging, Coach products are neatly placed in a red box. The box features a white outline, the logo is printed in silver in the middle of the box and a long, white ribbon is tied around it. Inside the box, handbags are stuffed with paper to keep their shape, and so are shoes. The product is covered by white tissue paper that has light silver lines printed over it.

The company's customer/product guarantee is as follows: 

"Coach does its best to make sure you'll be satisfied with every purchase. However, should any item fall short of your expectations, by all means return it to us unused upon receipt. Just enclose the form included with your order and we will send you a prompt refund or replacement, whichever you prefer. 
Coach products are made to ensure satisfaction and service for the natural life of the product. If, during its lifetime, your item should require repair, we offer a repair service for many of our products. There is a shipping and handling charge of $20 (plus tax, where applicable) for each item submitted for repair."

Sources: COACH Company Profile

Chapter 17 · Personal Selling and Sales Management

As Coach enters the market as a lifestyle brand, the company needs to maintain its base of loyal customers more than ever before. With the latest advertising campaign being the first to feature all Coach products, the company needs to continue to entice consumers with their products. The way that Coach hopes to accomplish this is  through various promotional methods as well as by strengthening their relationship with existing customers and building one with potential ones.

In order to keep costumes coming back for more, Coach not only continues to offer affordable luxury goods, but they also offer free shipping for to those who spend $150 dollars or more when shopping on their website. As mentioned in a post for chapter 2, the company offers discounts of up to 25% off to "Preferred Customers" and even provide a discount code for a friend in an elegant envelope they send to your address. Also mentioned in the post is that Coach surveys how well a product will do within it's target market before making it available for sale. This increases the company's image in the sense that they care about what products they are putting out there and want to provide customers with products that will satisfy both needs and wants.

At Coach, Global Corporate Merchants need to "have a deep understanding of our customers, past product sales, current market trends and Coach's classic, modern American style. They use this knowledge to work collaboratively with Design, Operations and Coach's different business units to help build fashionable product lines that appeal to our customers."

Coach focuses on the needs of their customers, and employees participate in a development program that allows them to better:

• Commit to internal and external customer service
• Understand customer priorities
• Build customer relationships through trust and respect
• Lead others to exceed customer expectations

The third bullet point relates to relationship selling, which stresses the importance of establishing a bond with consumers in order to form brand loyalty.

Thought and effort is clearly put into what Coach, Inc. does, and this allows them to make sure that their target market sees them in a positive light. From their social policies to discounts and their dedication to making sure a customer is pleased with their shopping experience, (be it in stores or online), the company is eager to please and to establish a connection with customers that many other brands only dream of creating.

Sources: COACH

Chapter 16 · Advertising, Public Relations and Sales Promotion

Coach has used methods such as magazines, their website, and social media to promote their products and famous famous such as Gwyneth Paltrow and Kate Bosworth. This season, Coach, Inc. is promoting their Fall 2013 Collection through #CoachNewYorkStories, an advertising campaign featuring three "influencers", Karlie Kloss, Liu Wen, and Will Chalker, who all have a New York story.

Karlie Kloss, Liu Wen, Will Chalker

Karlie lives in the West Village. She believes less is more, and her style is simple, timeless, and genuine.

Liu Wen knows New York is constantly changing, and she appreciates the beauty of the city: Uptown and Downtown, the West Side and the East, the city life and the beach. Liu Wen represents the feminine yet tomboy style.

Will believes that there is always something new to discover in New York. When he's not discovering new parts of the city, he's on a farm in the middle of England. He describes the two places as "night and day", but thinks the contrast is what keeps New York interesting. The city itself represents his style, and he knows that NY is where he is supposed to be.

These three faces all wear the latest trends that the company has introduced, from the "Borough Bag", a simple, chic, and sophisticated handbag that represents the "elegant ease" of the city, to the fur trimmed coat.
This campaign is the first time that all the products featured in the ad are from Coach, because as Coach transitions into a lifestyle brand, they need different tactics to be able to compete globally. #CoachNewYorkStories is the company's way of making people see that they are not just a bag brand. This seems as though Coach is using institutional advertising to promote the company, because as the company focuses on becoming a lifestyle brand, they need consumers to maintain a favorable attitude towards the brand.

Coach's revenue continues to grow by 21% every year, but analysts are worried that Coach changing it's direction after 72 years could affect the company's future growth. If this transition year is successful, Coach will then have established higher brand loyalty.

Sources: COACH, COACH Brand Issues, COH: Undervalued Luxury Brand

Chapter 15 · Retailing

COACH
595 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10022

The moment I got off the train at 5th Ave - 59th Street, and before I even entered the Coach store, I felt the luxury of Midtown Manhattan. I was wearing a plaid button down shirt, a PU leather skirt, sheer black tights and combat boots while the people around me wore blouses, pencil skirts, suits, and dress pants. Seeing well dressed people on the most expensive street in the world made me feel out of place, and looking back on my 22 minute trip from Murray Street to Madison Avenue and East 57th Street made me realize that I had no idea what COACH would have in store for me.

As I went to open the door to enter the store, an elderly couple was leaving. They seemed surprised that I held the door for them, and the doorman quickly went to hold it instead, in the process informing me that it was heavy, and apologizing. I ignored him, mostly because I was a bit thrown off that he apologized for something so mediocre.

Once inside, I found that the store was very well lit, bright, inviting, had high ceilings, and as luxurious as the street it was on. I was greeted numerous times by different employees, and asked over and over if I needed help looking for anything specific. After dismissing the sales people that were so eager to help me, I was approached by Yolanda and upon explaining why I was there, she told me that I was free to look around, touch the merchandise and try it on, but not to take pictures. Handbags from the fall collection are on the first floor of the store, but the entire store is filled with this season's trends. Shelves held wallets, shoes, and handbags within your line of vision. Mannequins were everywhere, sporting what was in that section of the store and products were very easy to find. The staircase leading upstairs looked as if it was made out of marble, and I felt like a princess walking up and down it. The view from the second floor was gorgeous, and an area with white couches gave shoppers a place to sit and try on shoes.

The quality of every product was impeccable. I own Coach bags, shoes, and perfume, but being able to touch a hand knit, cashmere and merino wool sweater made me feel like I was touching a cloud, a cloud with a $598 dollar price tag. A light pink belt next to the sweater was priced at $128. While the cheapest thing the store sold were the iPhone cases, shoppers weren't complaining, and were gawking at the bags and scarves, admiring the bright colors. While the colors were bright, some had deeper tones that could easily be paired with anything in my closet and would only tie my outfit together. All the products were located next to other products, showing possible outfit combinations. For example, a teal clutch was placed on a grey sweater, and a bag in a beautiful red color could be found next to a pair of matching heels. There was even a section on a glass table for sparkly black and silver shoes and bags, perfect for a night out.

View from Madison Avenue and E 57 Street

Coach's retail manager has obviously done their research. The store offers a variety of products, from coats to shoes in different colors, to accessories and perfume. You can look great from head to toe in just one trip to this store, but it'll definitely cost you. The location is perfect. Fifth Avenue attracts tourists and people with money to spend, and the 10:00 AM - 8:00 PM store hours gives you enough time to shop whether you're on your lunch break or just got off work. Employees are helpful and friendly, and hope to make your visit to the store as pleasant as possible.

While the company never strayed from its original style, customers were pleased with new product lines, and the brand worked hard to keep the Coach attitude while making subtle changes to their products, such as adding a leather trim to the bottom of the bag. Dior, Fendi, Chanel, Armani, Prada, Louis Vuitton, and miu miu are about a block away from the Coach store so "most expensive street in the world" seems like a fitting description. Even with the $598 for a sweater label, it is still considered an "affordable luxury" among the above mentioned stores and the atmosphere of the store makes it hard to walk away from the beautiful deep purple handbag that is strategically placed within your reach.

Chapter 6 · Consumer Decision Making

Having established themselves as a brand that sells quality accessories, Coach is able to convince customers to return. Being a global leader in premium handbags and accessories and having a strong brand presence in the luxury brand market is more likely to make shoppers trust the brand, eventually creating brand loyalty.

The company credits the success of the brand to the "unique combination of our original American attitude an design, our heritage of fine leather goods and custom fabrics, our superior product quality and durability and our commitment to customer service."

Coach advertisers their products through social media, YouTube videos, and magazines. Their print ads range from a simple shot of a product to a perfume sample in the magazine. Advertising in places where their target market posts updates of their life and reads about the latest trends connects with potential shoppers in the sense that this "affordable luxury" becomes easier to attain.

Coach offers products ranging from handbags, men's bags, women's and men's small leather goods, footwear, outerwear, watches, weekend and travel accessories, scarves, sunwear, fragrance, jewelry, and other accessories. With all these accessories to choose from, Coach is a hard brand to resist.
Famous faces featured in Coach ads include Gwyneth Paltrow, Lara Flynn Boyle, and Kate Bosworth. Strategically placing rich and famous people in ads for a company that offers affordable luxury gives shoppers the feeling of glamour and fame.

Sources: Company Profile

Chapter 5 · Developing a Global Vision

"Coach is a global leader in premium handbags and accessories. Building upon our strong brand and business equities, we are in the process of transforming from an international accessories business to a global lifestyle brand, anchored in accessories, presenting a clear and compelling expression of the Coach woman and man across all product categories, store environments and brand imagery. In addition, we are leveraging the global opportunity for Coach by raising brand awareness and building market share in markets where Coach is under-penetrated, through our directly operated business most notably in Asia and Europe."

     

Coach store in Shanghai

With over 500 retail stores located throughout the U.S. and with stores in over 20 countries, Coach has established their brand presence in the luxury goods market both domestically and globally, with sales of about $5.1 billion as of the 2013 fiscal year. As part of their strategic plan, Coach continues to penetrate the Asian market and by 2014, Coach hopes that China will be it's number one market and with sales of $500 million. To do so, Coach is aggressively expanding the number of stores within the country where the demand for luxury goods is on the rise. Currently, there are 400 directly-operated Coach stores throughout Asia.

coach.com helps increase the company's presence globally and e-commerce in the United States, Canada, Japan, China, and 20 other countries account for over $80 million in sales. In addition, Coach boutiques within department stores and specialty retailers also help build a strong global presence in Latin America, the Middle East, Australia, and Europe. Due to the company's effective brand building, Coach shows high operating margins and popularity within the United States and Japan.

Coach, Inc. is clearly dedicated and determined to achieve its mission of being the leading brand of quality lifestyle accessories. They are constantly working to expand the company and to satisfy consumer wants, whether they be the latest trends or affordable luxury.

Sources: Company Profile