While most U.S. retailers are clutching their purses because of the credit crunch, luxury retailer Coach Inc. plans to expand aggressively in Asia.
The New York-based company announced that
it will acquire its own domestic retail businesses in Hong Kong, Macao and mainland China from its distributor, the ImagineX Group, for an undisclosed amount. Coach plans on acquiring the assets, including fixtures and inventory, in stages over the next year.
I
magineX has been
Coach's distributor in the region since 2003, but the company wants to get up close and personal with the consumer as part of an overall strategy to capitalize on the Chinese economy and hit annual sales of $30 million by 2013
. To reach that goal, Coach plans to open more than 50 new locations in the region over the next five years.
Targeting wealthy Asian consumers with expensive, limited-edition goods is a favorite strategy among luxury retailers.
LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton's is one example. That company's sales didn't suffer in
China or in the U.S., and the company has increased its luxury brands with the recent acquisition of Hublot.
In addition, Coach is changing its style, releasing a new line featuring a brand new "
sophisticated" "C" logo pattern as it expands further into China.
- Maria Woehr
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