Is Kate Spade Winning The Handbag Battle Over Coach And Michael Kors?

Kate Spade

In a time when luxury designer handbags such as Louis Vuitton and Gucci are losing ground among the middle class, other less exclusive designers are gaining ground. Kate Spade, Coach and Michael Kors are all designer brands that sell millions of handbags every year to women who want to carry a bag that says luxury and class, but without the outrageous price tag found on bags in Chanel and Prada.

Kors, Spade and Coach all feature a line of relatively affordable bags, most less than $500 and almost all less than $1000. However, in recent months, it’s become apparent that Kate Spade is taking over the luxury retail market in terms of handbag sales over signature brands such as Michael Kors and Coach. In a recent study, Barclays announced that Kate Spade’s expected growth rate is going to approach $4 billion over the next few years. At the moment, her brand is worth $1 billion. Additionally, Barclays feels that the brand will expand from 200 to 600 stores in the coming years.

Right now, Coach has approximately 200 stores in Japan alone, versus Spade’s 200 worldwide locations. In terms of stocks and growth, Kate Spade’s shares have gone up almost 3 percent, whereas the shares for Michael Kors have dropped close to 2 percent. Being that Kate Spade’s brand is 20 percent smaller than other big name designers like Kors and Coach gives her brand more room to grow, whereas these other brands are not as able to do so.

In the coming years, Barclays expects to see a slowdown in the sales of Michael Kors and Coach products and an increase in demand for Kate Spade handbags, especially as more stores are built in more locations. The designer can expect to see the gap close between her brand and other designer brands, leading her to the top.

(Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images)

Written by Tiffany Raiford

Tiffany Raiford is a lifelong Floridian, wife to my high school sweetheart and mother of four littles (two girls and boy/girl twins...no, they are not identical and yes, I'm sure). My kids love to whine, so I love to wine. My loves include nap time, bed time, date night, travel and evenings and weekends when my husband is home because he handles all diaper changes.