How Coach scaled from a single store into a global icon

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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