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Bloomberg
Tapestry Inc. wants its handbags and boots to conquer Asia.
The house of fashion brands, which owns Coach, Kate Spade and Stuart Weitzman, has taken measures to gain more control over its business in the booming region, where in some cases it didn’t own the local operations that distribute and sell the products. Tapestry has signed purchase agreements to acquire the Stuart Weitzman business in Southern China and Kate Spade’s operations in Singapore, Malaysia and Australia.
“Our number one priority for this upcoming year is China,†Tapestry CEO Victor Luis said in an interview. “We’re buying back distribution.â€
Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau accounted for about 14 percent of Tapestry’s $4.49 billion in annual revenue in its fiscal year ended on July 1, 2017, prior to the company’s acquisition of Kate Spade. Tapestry’s Coach began acquiring the brand’s retail businesses across Asia, from Macau to South Korea, from its distributors.