NEW YORK, Dec 17, 2001 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Coach, Inc. (NYSE: COH), a leading marketer of modern classic American accessories, today announced that Coach Japan, Inc. (CJI) will be opening a Coach flagship store located in the Ginza section of Tokyo.

The Coach store will be located on the corner of Harumi-Dori and Namiki-Dori, a central point within Japan's most prestigious shopping district, and is expected to open in the summer of 2002.

Ian Bickley, President of Coach Japan, Inc. said, "We are delighted with our Ginza flagship location, which is expected to generate the highest sales volume of any Coach store in the world. This store will significantly enhance the Coach brand and is consistent with our strategy of aggressively growing market share in Japan. We expect to open at least 15 locations in Japan in this fiscal year alone. Further, the timing of this opening is ideal, as our business here remains remarkably strong and reflects accelerated consumer demand for our product. In fact, we continue to achieve double-digit comparable store sales increases in Japan this quarter."

The 5,400 square foot store (approximately 500 square meters) on two floors will be designed by Michael Neumann Architects and will be a refined and elegant evolution of the most recent Coach Chicago flagship. The Ginza location will be outfitted similarly to Coach's flagship locations in the U.S., featuring a sleek, open and inviting format offering a full selection of handbags, business and travel cases, outerwear, eyewear, watches, jewelry, evening, small leathergoods and home accessories.

Coach, with headquarters in New York, is a leading American marketer of fine accessories and gifts for women and men, including handbags, business cases, furniture, luggage and travel accessories, wallets, footwear, watches, outerwear and related accessories. Coach is sold worldwide through Coach stores, select department stores and specialty stores, through the Coach catalogue in the U.S. by calling 800-262-2411 and through Coach's website at www.Coach.com. Information on Coach products can be found on the Web at: http://www.coach.com.

Coach's shares are traded on The New York Stock Exchange under the symbol COH.

This press release contains forward-looking statements, based on current expectations, that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause results of Coach, Inc. to differ materially from management's current expectations. These forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may," "will," "should," "expect," "intend," "estimate," "are positioned to," "continue," "project," "guidance," "forecast," "anticipated," or the negative thereof or comparable terminology, including predictions of future results. Future results will vary from historical results, and historical growth is not indicative of future trends. Our future results will depend upon expected economic trends, our ability to anticipate consumer preferences for accessories and fashion trends, our ability to control costs, our store expansion and renovation program, currency fluctuations, and other factors. Please refer to the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for a complete list of risk factors.

CONTACT:
Coach
Analysts & Media:
Andrea Shaw Resnick, 212/629-2618
or
Burson-Marsteller
Media:
Priya Pereira-Sawian, 212/614-4763
Cell: 917/826-2334