After months of speculation, Coach acquired Kate Spade on Monday for $2.4 billion—a move to woo millennials and diversify its base of consumers.
The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2017, but Coach is already planning its next move and looking across the Atlantic.
By bolstering its mid-market offerings (including Stuart Weitzman), Coach is trying to compete with European fashion conglomerates, which have long dominated the global stage.
“What we are doing is creating the first New York-based house of modern luxury lifestyle brands,” Victor Luis said in an interview with Business of Fashion.
In the interview, Luis added that the company was trying to distinguish itself from “traditional luxury” fashion by purchasing Kate Spade. He sees the label’s wide array of lifestyle products and its “whimsy and fun” attitude as a way of standing out from the competition.
Luis defined modern luxury as “brands that are about approachability, not just about exclusivity.”
Millennials and middle-class consumers would be a new focus for the company, the chief executive stressed.
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