Coach Reacts To Crisis By Dabbling In Luxury

What to do in the face of worse than expected store traffic? The company has said same store sales are likely to grow only in the single digits versus Rethink the store. Coach is opening a new Legacy store on Bleeker Street in Manhattan. It is smaller and cozier than the usual Coach outlets and won't sell any of the C logo products. Instead, a quarter of the offerings are unique to the store and are based on the archives of the original designer, Bonnie Cashin. Women's Wear Daily says, "the Legacy store could be the foothold Coach needs to compete with European luxury powerhouses Louis Vuitton, Prada and Gucci." And certainly that's what they've got to do if they're going to get consumers to buy the store's matte alligator satchel for $20,000. The store is a place for creative director Reede Krakoff to experiment with different products -- a mink swing jacket anyone? And also to test price sensitivity.