In this video interview, The Moodie Davitt Report Brands Director Hannah Tan meets Coach Travel Retail Director Liam Dewis who discusses the brand’s transformation to a ‘Gen Z icon’ and its ambition to recruit the next generation of luxury consumers through what it coins as “expressive luxury”.
Through creative product designs, personalisation and a focus on self-expression, Coach is strengthening its connection with Gen Z – an approach Dewis believes is integral for the travel retail channel.
“At Coach, we’ve rewritten the luxury handbook,” he says. “We’ve chosen realness over rules, moved from exclusive to inclusive and prioritised purpose over perfection. This has allowed our customers to express themselves and have the courage to be themselves.
“We’ve gone from ‘my mother’s Coach’ to ‘my Gen Z Coach’.”
That brand evolution extends beyond marketing and into new product development, with the hero Tabby bag illustrating how Coach is reinterpreting its heritage for a new audience.
“The Tabby bag is the perfect example. It’s our icon, based on a design from the 1970s that we brought back,” Dewis explains.
“It’s designed to be versatile and customisable. We offer it in pebbled leather, in a quilted version and in soft leather, so it doesn’t have a fixed shape. There’s a Tabby for everybody.”
In addition, accessories and personalisation elements give Gen Z shoppers further opportunities to make each purchase their own.
“The charms category is huge for us because we know Gen Z love to customise their handbags. There’s a charm for everybody, and customers can also have their tags monogrammed in-store.”
According to Dewis, Coach’s domestic retail concepts offer an indication of how the brand can develop in airports. Dewis highlights the Coach Play store in Le Marais, Paris, which features two floors and a Coach Create bar.
“Customers can personalise their handbags and play with the product,” he says. “Coach Play stores are in select cities globally. It’s a special concept that really allows customers to interact with the product.”
Another example was Coach’s recent two-month Selfridges Corner Shop installation, which featured a slide shaped around brand mascot Rexy.
“Customers could slide down Rexy in the middle of the store,” Dewis recalls.“We’re not there yet, but perhaps in the future we’ll have a Rexy slide in one of our airport stores.”
For Dewis, these concepts underline Coach’s potential to help retailers better engage younger consumers in travel retail, while addressing a gap in the fashion category.
“We know from research that airports are lacking a premium middle brand, and I don’t think there’s a brand better placed than Coach to fill that gap,” he says.
“Airports need to capture that [Gen Z] customer. I think we have the perfect brand here.” ✈
