Coach Buys Stuart Weitzman for $574M: My Thoughts

This was announced earlier this week, but I guess that’s what you have to do when you want to be more relevant. I mean, I haven’t bought anything from Coach in probably a year or more. I don’t dislike the brand, and I admit that I’ve wandered into boutiques just to look. It’s just that I haven’t really found anything interesting. Stuart Weitzman, on the other hand, is one of my go-to brands. It’s not cheap, but it also doesn’t cost $1,000 for a pair of simple black pumps, either. And not to mention, the brand is more likely to carry small sizes – and I mean SMALL SIZES like a US 5 or 4 1/2 than most other brands. Especially if you purchase pre-season a trunk show (which I will be going to in a week).

The sign at a Coach store in San Francisco

Do I think this is a good idea for Coach? Well, on one hand, they need to find ways to grow, and acquisition is one of them. People are still buying Stuart Weitzman and see Stuart Weitzman as “trendy” while Coach is…boring. It may also save Coach some money when it comes to materials for their bags and shoes. However, there’s also risk. While Stuart Weitzman the designer is staying on as a creative director, the brand itself is now part of a larger entity and may have to meet guidelines and requirements of the larger umbrella group, so the question is whether it would “lower” the standards of said brand. In addition, will having the additional brand help Coach? It’s become such a mass brand (the outlet store at Woodbury Common in New York always has a line to get in, as if some hot band was coming to town and playing at a very small venue), probably to the point that they can no longer salvage themselves back to becoming “affordable luxury.” It’s now just a slightly above average priced bag brad that everyone seems to have. And not to mention, they seem to be obsessed with monogrammed logo showing (a bit better now than in, say 2012) and that’s tacky and over-the-top.

The cash at the Stuart Weitzman boutique on Bloor Street in Toronto. Taken in 2013 at their opening party.

What are your thoughts? Do you think this is a good move for Coach or Stuart Weitzman? Do you think Coach can reinvent itself with the purchase?

Image credits: Coach store Ken Wolter / Shutterstock.com; Stuart Weitzman image by author

About Cynthia Cheng Mintz

Cynthia Cheng Mintz is the founder and webitor-in-chief of this site and the petite-focused site, Shorty Stories. She has also written for other publications including the Toronto Star and has blogged for The Huffington Post. Her first novel, Aspirations, was published in 2007. Outside of writing, Cynthia researches and advises philanthropic ideas for family funds and foundations and also volunteers.