Coach Owner Tapestry Says 30% of Sales Now Digital

This year’s high inflation hasn’t stopped Americans from wanting to splurge on luxury goods from brands like Coach and Kate Spade.

Tapestry, the company that owns those labels, reported earnings Thursday (Aug. 18) that showed record annual revenues of $6.7 billion — a 15% increase — for the fiscal year ending July 2. Digital revenues rose by 25%, to the tune of $2 billion, and accounted for 30% of revenue.

Much of that revenue came from Coach — $4.9 billion for the year — with handbag sales alone accounting for half of Tapestry’s revenues, the company said in its presentation. Tapestry also acquired 7.7 million new customers in North America alone.

“We drove standout results this fiscal year and delivered accelerated revenue and profit growth across our portfolio — a direct reflection of the vibrancy of our brands and our team’s successful execution of the Acceleration Program,” said Tapestry CEO Joanne Crevoiserat in the release.

The company launched that program last year to trim costs to offset losses during the pandemic. In May, Tapestry credited the program for bringing it 1.4 million new customers, both in-store and online, during the third quarter of the fiscal year.

Read more: Luxury Brand Tapestry Reports Positive Q3

Crevoiserat added in the release that despite a challenging external environment, the company sees a “significant runway for long-term growth as we harness our powerful combination of iconic brands amplified by a data-rich platform.”

The news comes at a time when more affluent Americans are increasingly using buy now, pay later (BNPL) installment credit.

See more: Even the Rich Are Now Trying to Save Time and Money

This practice hasn’t typically been associated with higher earners. But this group has begun to increase its BNPL use as it comes to cover higher-priced luxury items that wealthier people still want, only on more affordable terms.

The July/August Buy Now, Pay Later Tracker®, a collaboration between PYMNTS and Splitit, noted that “older, wealthier consumers are quickly adopting BNPL as a means of simplifying financing for larger, big-ticket items and reducing the impact on their credit scores.”

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