Joshua Schulman Named President, CEO of Coach Brand
Coach Inc. has named Joshua Schulman president and chief executive officer of the Coach brand.
This confirms a report in WWD that Schulman was poised to join the firm. He starts in his new role on June 5. In the newly created role, he will be responsible for all aspects of the brand globally, and will report to Victor Luis, ceo of Coach Inc. Schulman is currently president of Bergdorf Goodman and NMG International. His last day at Neiman Marcus Group is May 10. WWD reported last week that he was leaving Neiman Marcus Group for a leadership position at a “multinational fashion company.”
“I’ve known Josh for many years and had always hoped to attract him to Coach. He lives and breathes our industry and brings a unique blend of brand building and broad retail experience to the company, making him the ideal person for this newly created role,” Luis said.
“I have been very impressed with the evolution of Coach under Stuart Vevers’s creative direction of Victor Luis’s leadership,” Schulman commented. He added that is looking forward to working with the “talented global teams at Coach to build on this transformation, driving growth and relevance for the iconic brand across product categories, channels and geographies.”
Separately, Coach said Andre Cohen, currently president for North America and global marketing for the Coach brand, will be leaving the company at the end of June. The company said he would return home to Singapore with his family. Cohen has been with Coach since 2008 and was “instrumental in Coach’s development in Asia and has been spearheading the execution of the brand’s transformation strategy in the North American market over the last two years,” the company said.
Coach also said that Ian Bickley, president of the international group for the Coach brand, has been promoted to the newly created role of president, global business development and strategic alliances for Coach Inc. Bickley will begin his new position on July 2.
Bickley, a 24-year veteran at Coach, will report to Luis and will be responsible for strategic partnerships across brands. He will also have oversight of the company’s global real estate development and will partner with the brand presidents in leading strategic distributor relationships, licensing partnerships and collaborations.
The new management structure at Coach is believed to be a step towards the anticipated acquisition of Kate Spade & Co. Coach acquired Stuart Weitzman in 2015. Since then, the company has been on the acquisition trail, with the goal of becoming a customer-focused, multi-brand organization.
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