Luxury retailer Coach steers its way to a profit

Having Gwyneth Paltrow as a brand ambassador has proved a winning formula for Coach. The US luxury retailer reported better-than-expected second quarter results yesterday, with sales up 15 per cent on last year to $1.45bn and an 18 per cent rise in profits to $347m. Retail sales were up 17 per cent at $1.28bn.

Coach, which sells handbags, leather goods, coats and knitwear, plans to open a third London store in Regent Street this year, after only opening its first European store in Bond Street in last September. The New York-based company, founded in 1941, has also been rapidly conquering Japan, Hong Kong and China an has launched social media campaigns in the Far East. laura chesters