
How Coach scaled from a single store into a global icon
From Masters of Scale by WaitWhat
May 21, 2026 · 28 min
About this episode
Lew Frankfort discusses how he transformed Coach from a small handbag maker into a global brand worth over 20 billion dollars.
When Lew Frankfort joined Coach half a century ago, it was a small NYC handbag maker without a single storefront. Frankfort reveals how he scaled the brand into a global icon worth more than 20 billion dollars with a signature blend of “magic and logic”. Lew’s memoir is Bag Man. Find it at: https://lewfrankfort.com/ Subscribe to the Masters of Scale weekly newsletter: https://mastersofscale.com/subscribe See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .
People in this episode
Guest: Lew Frankfort
Topics covered
- branding
- business growth
- entrepreneurship
- retail
- global expansion
Keywords
- Coach
- Lew Frankfort
- global brand
- handbags
- business strategy
- Bag Man
- retail growth
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Coach
Books & works: Bag Man
Places: NYC
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