Coach's Latest Collection: Lower Price Points, Trendier Styles...Broader Customer Base?

After significant social networking and fashion magazine buzz, Coach (COH) kicked off the presale of its new collection, Poppy, on June 19th. As usual, Retail Eye Partners were in the mall, checking to see if this would be a hit or a miss. The verdict: a hit! Poppy brings a return to novelty bags that have been missing from Coach for over two years – recent collections have felt more functional and basic in design and styling, safe but drab choices for recession shoppers.

But Poppy is full of fun! With younger, fresher and bolder styles, colors and detailing, Poppy brings more trend back to the Coach brand, putting it right in line with this season’s hottest looks. The big win though is the lower price points for the Poppy line. Although these are some of the lowest offered by Coach in over three years, the fabrications, detailing and craftsmanship of the collection’s pieces are still impressive, enabling shoppers to trade down on price, not style or quality.

With its fresh, trendy, splashy look and more affordable price points, Poppy looks poised to expand the appeal of the Coach brand to a broader age and income range of shoppers, which should yield some pretty positive results for the company.

Disclosure: No positions