NEW YORK, Oct 21, 2002 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Coach Inc. (NYSE:COH), a leading marketer of modern classic American accessories, announced an exclusive licensing agreement with Marchon Eyewear, one of the largest eyewear companies in the world. The agreement will give Marchon the worldwide license to manufacture and distribute both the sun and ophthalmic Coach Eyewear collections.

"We are very excited about this partnership, which will meld Coach's distinct design sensibility with Marchon's outstanding product quality and craftsmanship," said Kate Buggeln, Senior Vice President, Strategic Planning and Business Development at Coach. "The new Coach Eyewear collection will allow us to capture an increasing share of our consumers' accessory wardrobe and further strengthen our positioning as a lifestyle brand."

This new eyewear collection from Marchon and Coach is a collaborative effort that combines the Coach aesthetic for fashion accessories with the latest fashion directions in eyewear and sunwear. Coach sunwear will be sold in Coach retail stores and is expected to be launched by Marchon to select sunglass retailers in major markets for Spring 2003. Marchon also plans to unveil the ophthalmic collection later in 2003 through the company's extensive network of optical retailers. "We are delighted with this partnership, given Coach's reputation for fashion innovation, design leadership, quality and the brand's strong customer base," said Al Berg, Chief Executive Officer of Marchon.

Coach, with headquarters in New York, is a leading American marketer of fine accessories and gifts for women and men, including handbags, women's and men's small leathergoods, business cases, weekend and travel accessories, footwear, watches, outerwear, jewelry, sunwear, furniture 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 800/223-8647 and through Coach's Web site at www.coach.com. Coach's shares are traded on The New York Stock Exchange under the symbol COH.

Marchon is one of the largest manufacturers and distributors of fashion and technologically advanced eyewear and sunwear in the world. The company has a balanced and impressive range of collections with world-famous brand names and patented products. Headquartered in the USA, Marchon markets and distributes its products globally with regional headquarters in Amsterdam and Tokyo and sales offices serving customers in a network of over 80 countries. More information is available at www.marchon.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements based on management's current expectations. These 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 comparable terms. Future results may differ materially from management's current expectations, based upon risks and uncertainties such as expected economic trends, the ability to anticipate consumer preferences, the ability to control costs, etc. Please refer to Coach's latest Annual Report on Form 10-K for a complete list of risk factors.

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Jennifer Lipari (media), 212/614-4619
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