Bag Man
The Story Behind the Improbable Rise of Coach
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- $22.99
Publisher Description
The longtime CEO of Coach shares stories and strategies behind the company's stunning growth from a $6 million business to a $5 billion global brand.
Lew Frankfort knew nothing about fashion when he became assistant to the founder of Coach. By the time he left, Frankfort had spent 29 years as CEO, growing Coach from a scrappy maker of leather bags with a small cult following to a beloved lifestyle brand. Along the way, Coach created a new market segment—accessible luxury—that redefined an industry. In Bag Man, Frankfort explains how the son of a Bronx policeman, after working in city government, built a business that challenged conventions, grew it 1000%, and became recognized as one of the world's best CEOs.
Bag Man offers lessons from both achievements and missteps as Coach reinvented itself over decades. Throughout, Frankfort considers a more personal aspect of leadership—how the double-edged sword of fear and drive can lead to success but also take a toll. He shares his struggles with a haunting fear of failure, including how it drove an obsession with consumer insights that made Coach unique in the industry.
Summing up Coach's philosophy in three words—"magic plus logic"—Bag Man shows how blending creativity and data-driven discipline can produce sustainable, profitable growth, helping to:
Design and market products people loveBuild a roster of talent and a performance-driven cultureDrive strategies that pair a brand's unique value with the right market opportunitiesScale the business to achieve next-level organic growthOperate as a respected public company
A riveting, candid business memoir, Bag Man traces an extraordinary leadership journey that built a legacy brand.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this enlightening business memoir, Frankfort, the former CEO of Coach, weaves his personal story with that of the luxury fashion company that he led for 29 years. The son of a New York City policeman, Frankfort spent the first decade of his career in city government, where he oversaw New York's Head Start and day care programs. He stumbled into a job at Coach after a cab ride with a colleague who told him about a "small pocketbook company" whose owner was looking for a successor. He joined Coach as assistant to the founder in 1979. Though he didn't have a background in fashion, the skills he did have—a penchant for data analysis and curiosity about human behavior—helped him understand people's shopping habits and spread awareness of the brand, enabling him to move up the ranks to become CEO in 1985. By the time Frankfort stepped down in 2014, the company had grown from a $6 million business to a $5 billion brand known worldwide. He attributes much of Coach's success to its "magic plus logic" philosophy, which marries creativity and innovation with discipline and consumer-based insights. Throughout, Frankfort is candid about his failures and missteps, including not listening to his staff about the competitive threat posed by Michael Kors, and offers dozens of business insights, like the power of creating products that blend a brand's history with new innovations. The result is an illuminating behind-the-scenes look at a global brand's success.
