Bag Man: The Story Behind the Improbable Rise of Coach

In this enlightening business memoir, Frankfort, the former CEO of Coach, weaves his personal story with that of the luxury fashion company that he led for 29 years. The son of a New York City policeman, Frankfort spent the first decade of his career in city government, where he oversaw New York’s Head Start and day care programs. He stumbled into a job at Coach after a cab ride with a colleague who told him about a “small pocketbook company” whose owner was looking for a successor. He joined Coach as assistant to the founder in 1979. Though he didn’t have a background in fashion, the skills he did have—a penchant for data analysis and curiosity about human behavior—helped him understand people’s shopping habits and spread awareness of the brand, enabling him to move up the ranks to become CEO in 1985. By the time Frankfort stepped down in 2014, the company had grown from a $6 million business to a $5 billion brand known worldwide. He attributes much of Coach’s success to its “magic plus logic” philosophy, which marries creativity and innovation with discipline and consumer-based insights. Throughout, Frankfort is candid about his failures and missteps, including not listening to his staff about the competitive threat posed by Michael Kors, and offers dozens of business insights, like the power of creating products that blend a brand’s history with new innovations. The result is an illuminating behind-the-scenes look at a global brand’s success. (Oct.)