Leather Report

Coach Inc. (New York) has announced an agreement with Case London Ltd. (London) — a privately held British retailer and distributor of luggage and accessories — for the exclusive distribution of Coach products in the U.K. and Ireland.

Under the agreement, Case London will open up to 25 Coach locations in the U.K. over the next three years (many of them vendor shops within British department stores), anticipating sales of more than $20 million. Case will also assume operating responsibility for the existing Coach store on London's Sloane Street and the Coach shop in Harrods.

Coach president Peter Emmerson lauded Case's “significant in-market brand-building and merchandising expertise.” He said Case “shares our vision that the Coach concept of accessible luxury with a New York attitude will appeal to both the British consumer and tourists, and offer an alternative to the established European brands.” He said Coach sees the U.K. development “as a strategic step for future expansion into Continental Europe.”

Coach sells its high-price leather goods through more than 190 of its stores in the U.S. — with plans to open about 20 new stores a year — and through a number of U.S. department store chains. in the U.S. Case, a private company representing and retailing a number of other high-quality accessory and luggage brands, operates 18 stores in the U.K., including exclusive concessions in department stores and freestanding stores in major British towns.