Dubai: Coach will open more stores and renovate existing ones in the Middle East in the current financial year, as it closes weaker stores in North America.
The New York-based handbag and accessories maker, known for its Poppy handbags, plans to open five new locations in the region in the financial year ending June 2016, said Giorgio Sarne, president of Coach, in an interview on Thursday.
It already has more than 20 stores in the region across the UAE (Dubai and Abu Dhabi), Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait.
Dubai is the luxury brand’s biggest market in the Middle East. It already has four stores here including one in The Dubai Mall, and plans to open three more in 2015. Sarne did not comment on exact locations.
Coach will also open a second location in Bahrain by mid-2016.
Sarne declined to give the investment figure for the expansion.
He said the Middle East is “a growing market”, and expects higher sales in the region in the next two years. He declined to say how much.
“The Middle East is a promising market, so we are investing a lot … we continue to see [sales] growth this year and next year,” he added.
The growth of the luxury retail market in the UAE has slowed down this year, and analysts say spending by Russian and European tourists in the country has dropped because of the weaker rouble and euro.
“We didn’t see any impact in changes in the tourist flow,” Sarne said, adding that Coach’s stores in the UAE attract an equal split of residents and tourists.
Coach will also renovate existing outlets in the region to attract more shoppers this year. In the UAE, it has already unveiled the “new concept” in The Dubai Mall store.
Explaining the concept, Sarne said: “It’s a warmer expression of what the brand is … it’s a concept inspired by New York.”
By early 2017, all of the stores in the country will imbibe the new concept.
Meanwhile, the company is adding product categories and increasing its distribution in the region in the current financial year, he said.
Coach will focus on expanding in Europe and Asia as demand weakens in North America. The handbag maker is closing stores in North America amid falling sales and competition from rivals.
The company’s sales in North America fell 20 per cent to $556 million for its fourth quarter ending June 27, 2015 compared to the same time in the previous year. Overall net sales dropped 12 per cent to $1 billion in the period.
