Coach, based here, currently operates 174 units. The company plans to enter new markets next year including Annapolis, MD; Des Moines; Sarasota, FL; and Syracuse, NY. The retailer is also opening a Beverly Hills, CA flagship store on Rodeo Drive next year.

Next year the company will expand existing stores in Copley Place, Boston; South Coast Plaza, Costa Mesa, CA; and seven other markets. Coach will expand nine to 11 of its stores per year, said Michael Tucci, president of the company's North America Retail Division.

Japan is attractive because female customers in that country spend four times per capita on luxury goods than their American counterparts, said Lew Frankfort, Coach's chairman and CEO. The retailer currently operates about 70 units and shops in department stores in that country. It has plans to expand there and in cities like Hong Kong and Honolulu, where Japanese women frequently shop while on vacation.

In Japan, Coach will have opened 10 new stores by years' end. The company is now the second-highest selling brand of handbags in the country after Louis Vuitton, Frankfort said.

During its current financial quarter, the first in its fiscal year, Coach repurchased 2.4 million shares of its common stock at $39.06 each. The company expects sales of $335 million for the quarter, up from $258 million during the same period last year. During its last quarter, Coach posted a same-store sales jump of 17.7% over the same year-ago period.

Instant Insights /

Coach Plans to Open 20 US Stores a Year, Aiming for a Total of 350

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