Great thread Bruce, and some thought-provoking responses. Thanks!

There was a good article in business week a few years back that shed some light on this. Here are some excerpts...

We were actually on the phone with a client just today and this very thing was brought up. He has a product that can be marketed to the biz-opp crowd and also to more wealthy prospects, but there has to be perceived separation between the two or the strategy will fail.

A lot of other good insights in the BW article and also in the comments from Coach loyalists.

Funny you mention handbags/purses considering I just
spoke with my girlfriend an hour ago and she sold 3 purses
today for a total of $2500.

If I'm gonna buy any bag for $800 a pop it better have
lot's of illegal stuff in that bag.

As Moffatt said, if you do a product launch right things might slow down a little, but they don't die. I'm guessing Coach might have a similar effect when they launch a new outlet store, pandemonium on launch day then a regular "line up around the building" flow of customers going forward.

Reading the except from that article, it looks like Coach do have some scarcity. There are half as many outlet stores and they're an hour away from the other stores...

So while the products might be sewn together and spit out of the factory as fast as those little children's fingers can move, the actual stores themselves are what's scarce.

And you're segregating your market. From the comments on the article...

Another reminder of how lucky I am. My wife's never even heard of Coach, and her favorite word is "Clearance."

Same thing with my wife. If she spends money on herself, I'm in shock. Problem is - if I spend money on myself, she goes into shock.

Good point re need for approval and status symbol, that's what they are. I buy my wife Coach bags, Louis Vitton and Burburry bags all the time, like the diamonds from Tiffanys, and I have absolutely Zero appreciation for any of it. Why spend a bundle on a rock, or a bag that you can get something just as good at walmart almost from etc?

Now get me to Sears and craftsman tools, and now we're talking. Practical stuff that'll last a lifetime and won't break the bank. Or a Jura capresso machine for 1k which I bought so I get fresh espresso every day. Practical. Or my "Xenon" female talking pinball machine in the basement, it's fun. Cost me 1200 on ebay. That or 2 LV bags? No comparison. Pinball Wins.

But rocks, bags (and don't get me started on the $150/bottle face cream I buy for her!)... I just don't get the appeal.

Jason lol had me laughing again.

I guess it's all about demographics and what appeals to each market. I ask my wife, "really do you think that bag is worth $600? Wholesale from China it cost $18 tops.". Doesn't faze her. She doesn't agree. But that's ok, as long as she doesn't complain about the 10+K I spend on amazon each year on books etc, I won't complain about her "VIP Status at Tiffany's" or the bags etc I get for her - she's worth it. But still, I don't get it. I'll spend $300-$500 on MontBlanc pens because I write my copy longhand with it, and thousands on video stuff, for my business. But handbags? Diamonds? hmm.

-k

Hey Ken, I object. Don't rag on the diamonds. They last longer than tools. They transcend time.

Coach has been around since the turn of the century. OK, not that early but almost. Image and very minimalist advertising catapult the brand. Everyone likes a status symbol.

I'd be selling the bags rather than an info product.

The customer list itself would be pure gold. The up-sells and cross-sells one could do would yield amazing profits.