Kate Spade’s CEO and brand president Eva Erdmann recently shared the company’s strategy to tap into the growing wave of consumer demand for brands that were popular in the ’90s and early 2000s, like J.Crew, Abercrombie & Fitch and Coach. Erdmann told investors that while Kate Spade had “incredible awareness”, it needed better conversion. “The plan is to become top of mind, with the right products, the right experiences and the right storytelling,” she said. Much like
Much like Coach’s marketing approach in recent years, a large part of Kate Spade’s strategy is centered around storytelling with Gen Z tastemakers and consumers.
On September 23, Kate Spade unveiled its Fall 2025 global brand campaign, “Spark Something Beautiful”, featuring four Gen Z cultural icons: rapper Ice Spice, TikTok star Charlie D’Amelio, singer Laufey and model Reign Judge.
This campaign marked Erdmann’s first major initiative that leverages Kate Spade’s legacy status to reconnect with younger generations since she joined the company in October 2024, having previously led marketing and brand strategy campaigns for a range of L’Oréal-owned brands for 11 years.
However, CI&T’s global director of retail strategy Melissa Minkow questioned the brand’s chances for a comeback.
“Unfortunately, a brilliant marketing campaign isn’t going to necessarily grow conversion; it will just continue to contribute to the already-high awareness,” Minkow told Inside Retail.
Instead, Minkow said the legacy retailer should follow Coach’s example and focus on introducing a fresher, more relevant product assortment.
What happened to Kate Spade?
“In its heyday, Kate Spade was, perhaps, the first truly accessible luxury brand,” Christine Russo, principal of Retail Creative and Consulting Agency (RCCA), told Inside Retail.
Russo credited the brand’s popularity in the late ’90s to its founder Kate Spade’s “trained eye” and ability to hit on two major trends during this era: structured bags and black nylon fabric.
“Prior to this, black nylon bags were primarily associated with Prada. So, for those who couldn’t afford Prada, Kate Spade bags were the way to go, and go they did,” Russo remarked.
However, as trends evolved and ownership of the brand continually changed hands, Kate Spade’s creative direction no longer resonated with the customer.
Additionally, Russo pointed out that the floodgates of accessible luxury had opened, Kate Spade struggled to stand out amid a sea of competitors like Michael Kors, Kenneth Cole, Coach, DKNY and others.
By the time Tapestry acquired Kate Spade in July 2017 for $2.4 billion, Russo noted that many in the industry saw this move as a financial mistake.
Can Kate Spade get its spark back?
While it would appear that Kate Spade is taking a page from Coach’s playbook to reposition itself for a modern consumer audience, Russo pointed out a few key points of difference between the two handbag players.
“Coach’s international playbook was incredibly robust and did not put pressure on the balance sheet,” said Russo, whereas Kate Spade seems to be relying on a level of financial stability the brand simply doesn’t have.
In the brand’s latest fiscal report, it was revealed that Kate Spade’s sales fell 13 per cent in the most recent quarter and that Tapestry took a non-cash impairment charge of more than $850 million tied to the brand.
Global Data’s managing director, Neil Saunders, also pointed out the challenges that Kate Spade faces, compared to Coach.
“Coach has had enormous success by adapting the brand to resonate with younger consumers, so Tapestry has a clear playbook that it can apply to Kate Spade,” said Saunders.
“However,” he added, “the issue is that Kate Spade is not as well-known nor as strong a brand as Coach. This means there is a lot of groundwork to do before Kate Spade has more success with younger consumers.”
Kate Spade will need to pull the brand back from cheaper channels like off-price, thin down the assortment, have clearer seasonality, improve on-trend product drops and boost marketing on social media and with influencers, he said.
Similarly, Minkow noted Kate Spade will need to do a better job of marketing the brand’s newer, more relevant product drops, such as the Duo Bag showcased in the “Spark Something Beautiful” campaign, alongside its more accessible price points moving forward.
She warned that the brand will need to avoid becoming distracted by creating too much celebrity-centered content.
“There is a lot that needs to come together to drive growth at Kate Spade, and it will not be as easy to accomplish as it was with Coach,” Saunders concluded.
Further reading: Kate Spade launches Hello Kitty-inspired capsule collection
