I look at retail, and I simply don't believe that everyone is going under. You could put together a powerhouse merchant/apparel company here if you are Polo Ralph Lauren (RL) or Coach (COH) or VF Corp. (VFC). You can just go pick as you please!

From a recent Mad Money show: "This stock is just going to mark time. No one wants to invest in high end handbags, but I'm a buyer of Coach. Their CEO will turn this one around."

The maker of high-end hand bags announced that its board of directors authorized the repurchase of up to $1 billion in common stock. The New York-based company plans to complete the buyback by June 26, 2010.

Coach recently completed its previous $1 billion-dollar buyback plan, which was initiated in November of 2007. The company repurchased 31.8 million shares at an average cost of $31.42 per share.

Lew Frankfort, Chairman and CEO of Coach said, "The stock repurchase program is designed both to increase economic value for shareholders and to offset share issuances under our employee compensation plans. Coach's strong financial condition allows us to take advantage of
opportunities to purchase our securities at attractive prices, particularly considering our excellent long-term outlook."

On July 29, 2008, Coach issued excellent fourth-quarter results. Net income jumped 47% to $213.5 million, or 62 cents a share, from $160.6 million, or 42 cents a share, recorded in the same period last year. Favorable tax gains and a weak dollar helped fuel profit gains. Revenue increased 20% to $718.5 million from $652.1 million in the year ago period. Even amid the weak U.S. consumer, revenue in North America was better by 18%.

We like to see that Needham Research has a buy rating on Coach. Analyst Christina Chen said, “The luxury consumer continues to spend on trend right handbags as evidenced by the increase in sales of handbags priced over $400 which accounted for 24.0% of US retail sales in F4Q, up from 17.0% last year.” She has a $37-dollar price target on the stock.

The maker of high-end hand bags announced that its board of directors authorized the repurchase of up to $1 billion in common stock. The New York-based company plans to complete the buyback by June 26, 2010.

Coach recently completed its previous $1 billion-dollar buyback plan, which was initiated in November of 2007. The company repurchased 31.8 million shares at an average cost of $31.42 per share.

Lew Frankfort, Chairman and CEO of Coach said, "The stock repurchase program is designed both to increase economic value for shareholders and to offset share issuances under our employee compensation plans. Coach's strong financial condition allows us to take advantage of
opportunities to purchase our securities at attractive prices, particularly considering our excellent long-term outlook."

On July 29, 2008, Coach issued excellent fourth-quarter results. Net income jumped 47% to $213.5 million, or 62 cents a share, from $160.6 million, or 42 cents a share, recorded in the same period last year. Favorable tax gains and a weak dollar helped fuel profit gains. Revenue increased 20% to $718.5 million from $652.1 million in the year ago period. Even amid the weak U.S. consumer, revenue in North America was better by 18%.

We like to see that Needham Research has a buy rating on Coach. Analyst Christina Chen said, “The luxury consumer continues to spend on trend right handbags as evidenced by the increase in sales of handbags priced over $400 which accounted for 24.0% of US retail sales in F4Q, up from 17.0% last year.” She has a $37-dollar price target on the stock.

I own enough coach to keep the stocks value pretty high. lol

Brand-Moat

magic formula July 20 08

From a recent Mad Money show:

"Not been a big fan of retail ... problematic. Too expensive, went up to 36, pulled back to 30. I'm not going to be there with Coach."

From a recent Mad Money show:

"A timing stock. ... problem with the last quarter was a Japanese inventory issue. ... Now moved up 8 straight points. ... Wait till it goes lower." Cramer prefers Costco (COST).

The last reason Cramer is ignoring Wednesday’s Fed announcement is that earnings have been great, and earnings control stocks, he said. Overseas exposure is fueling beats, and even the companies that don’t outperform have been bouncing back and then some. Just look at Apple
Apple Inc (AAPL), Amazon.com (AMZN), FedEx (FDX) and Coach (COH).

dropped huge after purchase

Coach is too last year. Store traffic has increased because of holiday shopping but they are having to discount very heavily to move merchandise. I recently received coupons for 50% off all Coach merchandise, thats how scary consumer spending is these days

Coach has topped out.

good at branding but the downside is that it does not really produce luxury items

too quick a ise over past 6 months. Not as fancy as Italian or French fashions

When it comes to stocks, too much "love" is a bad thing. To those who already own Coach, hang on. To those who want to buy Coach, save your pennies and wait for that big bad bear to knock the stuffing out of this preppie little teddy.