Coach Earnings Call Nuggets: the New Transformation Strategy and the Impact of Sandy

Coach, Inc. (NYSE:COH) recently reported its second quarter earnings and discussed the following topics in its earnings conference call.

The New Transformation Strategy

Robert Drbul – Barclays Capital: Lew, I have two questions for you. The first one, the new transformation strategy, is it a reaction to market conditions and really what do you hope to achieve with it?

Lew Frankfort – Chairman and CEO: First, Bob, we have been working for the last two years on moving Coach from an accessories brand to a lifestyle brand. We started with a holistic approach to men’s which is running extremely strongly. We have moved forward with footwear. We’ve introduced new store prototypes. We have expanded our lifestyle categories with key items, particularly in outerwear, all of which demonstrate consumers’ interest in Coach providing a more complete expression and based on the accumulation of a variety of factors including having the right team in place on success with our initiatives, business process change and an articulation of who the Coach Women will be through our lenses, we have now galvanized on this initiative and you’ll see this holiday a complete expression of the Coach brand. In essence, what we really want to is enable the consumer to see Coach in a more complete emotional context rather than seeing Coach as a great accessory or a great bag we want them to first think of Coach as a great brand on anklet and accessories, but through a lifestyle lens.

Robert Drbul – Barclays Capital: I have a second question, Lew. Within the holiday season, was there a variation between full-price comps and the outlet stores in North America?