LONDON — Coach is on another charm offensive, this time at Selfridges, where it has opened a Gen Z-focused pop-up at the Corner Shop.
The Coach Charm Playground and personalization station runs from Monday through May 23, and it’s all about experiences, building community and offering customers an escape from the day-to-day. In tune with the retail zeitgeist, there is much more to do than shop.
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The brand’s dinosaur mascot, Rexy, has been transformed into a slide that even adults can use. Guests can also step into an apple-shaped photo booth, a nod to Coach’s birthplace in the Big Apple, to capture and print photos.
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How’s that for old-school?
The space spotlights Coach’s signature Tabby bag, which has been reimagined as a larger-than-life interactive product display that doubles as a monogramming station.
It includes a charm and customization station, while the brand is doing a four-week residency with the London-based fine-line tattoo artist The Social.
“What you’ll first notice in the Corner Shop is that it’s immersive and it draws you in. Every element of the environment is intended to drive interaction and bring to life Coach’s playful, New York spirit, from a reimagined Rexy installation to larger-than-life interpretations of the Tabby and dedicated personalization moments,” said Matteo De Bortoli Albricci, senior vice president, general manager, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
He added that “community and creativity are central to how consumers want to engage today. As a consumer-obsessed company, we know it’s no longer just about product — we have to create cultural relevance, emotional connection, and co-creation. Gen Z consumers love charms because they’re looking for ways to personalize their purchases in ways that feel authentic to them. The Corner Shop builds that momentum by creating an environment that not only showcases the product but encourages interaction.”
De Bortoli Albricci said the space has been designed to feel “dynamic and evolving, with a program of curated moments and live activations that keep it fresh and culturally relevant throughout the residency. It’s about creating an experience that people want to spend time in — one that reflects our focus on craft, creativity and self-expression in a way that feels both engaging and uniquely Coach.”
He added that Gen Z is a major growth driver for Coach globally and across the EMEA region. “In the U.K., we are already seeing strong momentum within these customers, and our focus is on accelerating that growth while scaling into other markets such as France. Initiatives like the Corner Shop play an important role in that strategy — allowing us to engage Gen Z in a way that aligns with how they discover and interact with brands today.”
Coach chose Selfridges, he said, because it’s a key partner in the U.K., “and plays an important role in connecting with consumers in the market. At the core of our ‘Courage to Be Real’ platform is self-expression, confidence and personalization. Partnering on the Corner Shop is a natural way to build brand love in an iconic retail environment.”
At the pop-up, visitors can shop a selection of Tabby styles, including pebble leather and quilted suede iterations in classic colors such as black, chalk and warm brown. There are also exclusive shades such as fuchsia and sky blue.
Coach’s New York family of bags, including the Empire and Brooklyn, new Kisslock and Turnlock styles, and a limited selection of runway ready-to-wear pieces and accessories, also appear on the Corner Shop shelves.
“In a world full of noise and constant distraction, we wanted to create a space where people can tap into their inner child and regain a sense of wonder through our Coach icons,” said Giovanni Zaccariello, senior vice president of visual experience at Coach.
“Charms are the central theme throughout, because we wanted to underpin Coach’s belief in self-expression in a playful way — taking classic Coach codes and supersizing them. The Rexy slide and apple photo booth act as the centerpieces of the experience, encouraging our community to come together and create memorable moments within the space.”
Coach loves touting its charms.
Earlier this year the Tapestry Inc.-owned brand created a series of readable book charms as part of its spring campaign, “Explore Your Story.” The campaign, which features Elle Fanning and a host of other stars, follows the brand’s official sponsorship of Sunnie Reads, a new Gen Z book club created by Reese Witherspoon, last year.
Coach is just one in a series of fashion brands, including Miu Miu, Dior and Bottega Veneta, to promote the value of reading books to digitally native generations.
That strategy has been working. In the fiscal second quarter Coach pushed its parent Tapestry to new heights, prompting the company to boost its outlook for the full year. The handbag brand — which invented the term “accessible luxury” 25 years ago, but lately has been moving upscale — grew sales 25 percent to $2.1 billion for the three months ended Dec. 27.