Coach Legacy Alligator Purse
Coach Legacy Alligator Purse
It is not just Coach that moved its factory to China, many designer houses have also moved. But those that remain with their “Made in Italy” tags are claiming a little more than they are worth at times. The fact is, many designers have the majority of their bag made in China and then some finishing touches are completed in Italy etc. And this renders a Made in Italy stamp? I think not. Why am I talking about this? It is all about quality of what we are buying, and many times our luxury items are not high quality. This actually is not a start for me to go against Coach purses, but to say that they are not the only ones that have moved their factories to keep up with the demand and costs. Quality matters to me, and at times it is lacking. To be honest, I have not seen a Coach Alligator Bag in person, so I will need your insight on this. Coach has continued to branch out to bring exotic materials to its clients. The Coach Legacy Alligator Pocket Flap is designed with imported alligator and leather trim on the iconic Coach Pocket Flap bag. One thing that I find great about this bag is its functionality; with an inside zip pocket, cell phone pocket, ring to clip keys, and two outside front pockets. I have a major issue with the exotic outside that is then lined in fabric on the inside. I would definitely expect a more luxurious interior for the price, like suede lining. Either way, Coach exotic purses already has fans in Rebecca Romijn, Mandy Moore, and Eva Longoria. This bag costs $7000 through Coach.
Let’s have a debate: Would you ever buy a Coach exotic? Do you look down upon brands that move their companies overseas, like to China?
- by Megs on 4.9.2008 in Coach Handbags.
I appreciate when a company owns up to moving their factories to China. At least their being honest instead of hiding the fact and placing their “made in italy” label on their to fool their customers. I can’t really say if quality necessarily goes down whether a product is made in china or not. Not speaking of purses, but I do own Ugg shoes and they are made in china and are incredible quality. So it is possible to find high quality without being made in europe or elsewhere.
4.9.2008 - 10:34 am
I agree with Lauren. I also think the quality is great if they only make a limited number as opposed to mass production. Does anyone know if Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Gucci have also moved their production sites to China? I love these designers, but they are still putting France, USA, Spain and Italy on their labels… I hope they’re not misleading the consumers…
4.9.2008 - 10:46 am
I might buy a Coach exotic, though certainly not this one. I think it’s pretty obvious that the celebrities get their bags for free from the manufacturers most of the time to create buzz. Are they true fans? Who knows? Perhaps they are just fans of cute free bags. Exotic bags are significantly more costly, so I think the amount of time,care and sheer attraction that goes into choosing one should be commensurately higher.
As far as buying bags produced in China, I am positive there are many skilled workers in China who could produce bags indistinguishable from Italian made. China has developed a reputation for cutting corners to save $, however, and I try to avoid goods made in China. I think it is false labeling to say made in Italy if it it was assembled somewhere else.
4.9.2008 - 10:47 am
I’m not surprised if a company moves their production to China in order to keep up with the demand and the ever rising costs in labour and raw materials. Made in China does not necessarily mean lousy quality, but it does give a rather inferior impression and comes across as mass produced. Made in Italy/ France will always be expected and preferred if consumers are willing to fork out hundreds and thousands on a bag.
But $7,000 on a Coach ‘Made in China’ exotic? I think that’s abit much!
4.9.2008 - 10:48 am
I would NOT buy a Coach exotic. I am not a fan of Coach. I have a few of their higher end bags, but the brand does not scream luxury to me. Personally, the only bag I would pay $7000 (or much more) for is a Birkin.
4.9.2008 - 11:27 am
Coach lost me when they started charging so much for their purses.. I have a couple of old Coach pieces (which are still good) but as far as I know they have always been made in China.. that’s why I would never spend that much on their purses. China might produce good quality purses, but the truth of the matter is, the labourers are not highly paid… so it does not make sense to charge so much when you do not have that much over head… but then again, if they want their goods to remain high end they have to charge so much, right?
4.9.2008 - 11:38 am
I go to school and was lucky enough to attend a presentation from 2 alumnae (one was the Divisional Vice President of Merchandising) who work high up in Coach in NYC. I must say that the dynamics and overall structure of this company is fascinating and although I am not a fan of the brand myself, it was interesting to get some insight into the success of this American company. As she was fueled with questions I was SO tempted to ask about their production in China as well as where they see themselves in the “luxury” handbag market with their alligator bags. however, I didn’t want to make the whole room uncomfortable! Someone did ask if she considers the handbag brand that a potential employee walks in with for an interview and although she said that if they walk in with an LV, dooney etc. it is not “a deal breaker” but that it definately affects their chances!
4.9.2008 - 12:16 pm
Coach built it’s brand on being the American handbag. Remember the add campaign they ran maybe 3-5 years ago with children of great American’s? Hmmmmmm I think coach moved to far away from their roots and now they really are too far away in China!
I had coach bags when I was 13 I don’t want them now and especially now that they are being made in China. No thank you pass.
4.9.2008 - 12:33 pm
This is an ugly bag. Probably on of the worst alligator/croc bags I´ve ever seen! Why oh why must there be so much stuff on one smallish bag? And the price is ridiculous.
4.9.2008 - 12:41 pm
I don’t think the bag above really showcases the exotic skin as much as a $7000 bag should. I would much rather save my money and get a really lovely BV exotic or a few Chanel purses then get an exotic bag that looks, to be quite frank, fake. That being said, I do own quite a few Coach purses (going on 40)and I’m just not in love with the brand anymore. Quite a few of my recent purses have broke quite easily (I take exceptionally good care of my bags) and the company won’t repair them. Furthermore, every spring they do that horrific pastel patchwork signature line that drives me running from the store every time I see it. I’ll head to Coach for a slightly trendy bag that won’t last; however, I should just spend a couple hundred more and move on to Miu Miu.
4.9.2008 - 1:39 pm
I will admit it is a bit disheartening to know your coach bag was made in China. It’s a stigma that unfortunately has affected a company known for excellent quality when it comes to LEATHER goods. Their price points are a bit high in correlation to their production costs. In my opinion Coach has been consistently declining in their image and reputation as an “affordable luxury goods” company. I am often asked why I spend so MUCH money on other designer handbags such as Louis Vuitton and Gucci, but to me its a sigh of relief knowing the quality and the guarantee these handbags carry with them…. its a consistency unparalleled in the market.
I truly hope their standards begin to rise as the realization that their goods.. are just not worth the money right now. They should go back to their roots and continue to produce some of the finest leather handbags. The Signature collection is so saturated in their market.
4.9.2008 - 1:43 pm
I think as long as the Coach quality control is excellent, I don’t mind if it’s made in China. Two of my LV bags aren’t perfect even though they’re made in France.
4.9.2008 - 2:12 pm
I have two Coach bags and they are in perfect condition. I like their cleaning and conditioning products for the white leather bag. No problem with made in China because I’m looking at the workmanship and these two bags have held up just fine. I have never felt that made in France or Italy is a guarantee that it will be the best quality but it is almost always a guarantee that it will be more expensive. I think too many people like the snob factor of impressing others with how much they can afford? Sorry, but it’s just my opinion. I do think Coach should stick with beautiful leather, like the first Legacy collection. This is far from the best looking Coach bag I have ever seen and in the picture anyway, it looks cheap with too much hardware, sort of like a Guess bag.
4.9.2008 - 3:11 pm
I have never liked Coach bags. They’re too generic and boring. I guess they’re trying to get back into the designer bag game with exotics, but I’m sorry, I will NEVER pay even a thousand dollars for a COACH.
In regards to the Made in China deal, I think some Made in China products are even more superior than those made elsewhere. I have a leather bag that was made in China and it has held up beautifully for over 5 years now and it still looks new.
I think we have to let go of our misconceptions that made in China products are inferior. I’m sure there are many talented craftspeople in China as there are many people in Italy or France that do a lousy job. It’s never a good idea to generalize because more likely than not, there are exceptions to the rule!
4.9.2008 - 3:52 pm
I would NOT buy a Coach exotic, and do not appreciate companies that move their factories there, and, especially in the case of Coach, still charge such a high price! I’m way more likely to buy a Bottega Veneta or Belen Echandia exotic, where I know the quality is very high and the craftsmen are Italians who have been doing this for generations. Nothing against China, there are many reasons I would love to visit that country, but they are new to the whole handbag game, and generally the quality shows it.
4.9.2008 - 5:20 pm
I wouldn’t buy a Coach at $7000. Actually I have not purchased a Coach bag since my late teens. I know of some luxury brands that had their product parts made in Asia and then finish up in Italy, thus Made in Italy. I just saw a beautiful Bvlgari Ostrich tote for around $6500.
4.9.2008 - 5:34 pm
Newsflash ladies - LV & Gucci bags are made in China, right along with the Coach bags. They just put a few finishing touches on the bags in Italy / France and slap on a “Made in..” label. In fact, LVMH and PPR outsource the majority of thier products to China, including sunglasses, apparel, footwear, etc. In addition to that the fake LV bags are sometimes even made by the people who assemble the real ones or at a factory right next door!
4.9.2008 - 8:42 pm
If I was going to buy an exotic …It wouldn’t be coach!!!
4.9.2008 - 9:00 pm
Even though Coach’s bags have gone up in price (everything has lately) they have more moderately priced handbags….and if making them in China keeps the cost down, then I don’t mind. It really comes down to how the company oversees the factories in China to ensure quality products, and it seems like they do that.
4.10.2008 - 12:58 am
no offense to anyone, especially the coach fans…
7000 for a coach bag is a bit stupid…because exotic or not, if anyone sees the coach label, they would NEVER imagine that being the price tag.. I have a large gucci Indy in gold python and it cost me $3800. AND ITS GUCCI.Lets be honest here, Gucci and coach arent exactly in the same league.
and about the made in china thing.. it sucks because the quality does go down (my bags never last like they used to), and when i was at shanghai, there are some shops (mostly the locals know them), which sell original goods, like from the factories of these shops, but they are defects..and by defects, they mean a little thread is sticking out or something.. like i have the classic spy, and i compared it the one they had.. EXACTLY the same.. i was devasted, although i was tempted to buy the other bags but im loyal and id pay full price anytime..
4.10.2008 - 7:30 am
I would never pay $7000 for Coach. No way.
4.10.2008 - 9:04 am
That bag, its really cute but I cant stand the clasps on the pockets. Its so ugly
overall I like the design and functionality of the bag. 7k, that better be real crocadile from the Amazon…
4.10.2008 - 9:46 am
Sorry, just don’t like the bag anyway. Can not afford 7k for that. voguelande.com
4.10.2008 - 10:23 am
when companies outsource their manufacturing to china and don’t lower their prices, it just says that they’re greedily eating up that profit. this is irritating, and, combined with how rude the girls at coach stores are, is why i won’t buy there. give me a bag that will last a lifetime and service you find at gucci/lv and you can charge me a fortune.
and i’d take buttery leather over other materials any day.
4.11.2008 - 4:01 am
I think Coach is just being honest here, 99.9% of the big brands have factories in China nowadays. Many many high quality products are from China, and those Chinese craftsman are just as skilled (or maybe even better) than the French/ Italians.
But it’s also true that once a brand attaches itself with China, it cheapens it’s image drastically. That’s the sad reality and a hard to break stereotype. Nobody wants to pay several thousands of dollars for a purse that’s manufactured in the same place as their water bottle/ socks.
4.11.2008 - 10:52 am
So many times I have heard that designer houses are moving their factories from Europe to China to keep up with demand and costs. The reality is that the price of Coach has not dropped but increased drastically over the years. I remember when Coach was considered the poor man’s Gucci and suddenly the prices are just as high. I agree with previous comments in that the company is just greedly eating up the profit . Coach is not being 100% truthful. For the same price I would rather buy a Gucci or Louis Vuitton.
4.12.2008 - 1:00 am
The design of this bag looks like something I could have bought at Target or JCPenneys — whether that’s a testament to better design for the masses — or whether Coach’s designers are getting lazy — I wouldn’t have invested croc on this bag.
4.12.2008 - 2:52 am
For this much money I would invest in a Birkin or go with a Nancy Gonzalez exotic.
4.12.2008 - 5:04 pm
I am a huge Coach fan, but even I wouldn’t buy an exotic. That being said my most expensive and most loved Coach bag is a leather Lily $1198. I think she is better made than my two Gucci large chain horsebit hobos $1295. Would I have paid that much for a signature hobo in Coach, NO! However, to me that doesn’t mean the Coach bag would be lower quality regardless whether it was crafted in China or not.
4.13.2008 - 6:58 pm
i will never in my life buy a handbag that is made from ENDANGERED ANIMALS.never.
only uneducated people will buy those.
4.14.2008 - 3:03 am
quick question. Is this alligator purse made in China as well???
Because if so, if I wanted a purse that is just as good quality maybe not as good but good enough I would go to target and spend $30 bucks. $70 with another two 00s just does not cut it.
Seriously! o_O
4.14.2008 - 7:01 am
All I can add is that I used to be a Coach SA, and many exotic Coach bags (most exotics, in fact) are made in Italy, not in China. The signature and leather bags are made in China.
4.21.2008 - 5:05 pm
Coach made its mark as an American Company. It still pretends to be an American Company on its website. The only reason it is being “honest” by disclosing, in fine print someowhere on its labels, that its products are now made in China, is that the law in this country requires it to make that disclosure. I do not buy products made in China. Even if I could ignore that country’s horrid human right’s record and the fact that China now owns our country (and I can’t ignore those two things), companies, like Coach, who quietly move their factories to China from the US solely to increase their bottom line, put Americans out of work. That does not sit well with me. Additionally, the flood of factories opening in China to satify our lust for cheap stuff is leading to that country’s insane demand for oil, which is one reason our gas prices in this company are going through the roof. Believe me, each time one of you saves a buck or two buying a cheaper Coach purse (the prices on Coach bags are not what their American-made counterparts used to be when adjusted for inflation) or buying another good made in China, you are losing much more than that at the gas pump and elsewhere.
So, to answer your question, No — I will not buy a purse that is made in China. I don’t care what label it bears.
P.S. To answer a question posed by another reader, Louis Vuitton manufactures its goods in France, Italy, Spain, and — to its credit (given that it is a French company)– the United States. It does not make any of its good in China. I know because I grill companies about this issue (and get the answer in writing) before I buy their goods.
5.7.2008 - 12:58 am
LV is made in Spain or France. Chanel is all-france and Gucci is made mostly in-line production in Italy. Prada on the other hand has been know to outsource to China…beware.
6.26.2008 - 1:11 pm
I noticed a post about “Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster” (Dana Thomas) earlier, and frankly, if you read that book, Thomas pretty much all but says outright that LV bags are mostly produced in China. In it, Thomas is highly critical of LV–from bottom-line focused management, to its exploitation of the consumer, and to its ridiculous markups which are highest in the luxury goods industry at 13-14x production costs. Then she goes right on talking about the “Made in” tags that are a bait & switch.
While she never lists by name what companies are fooling the consumer due to privacy agreements signed before visiting the Chinese factories, she does add that the consumer would be totally SHOCKED. I took that, followed by the rest of her vicious attack on LV, to be pretty much a, “Reader, deduce the obvious yourself.” In fact, the only luxury goods company that she gives a nod to is Hermes, whose bags are truly made by “artisans”–more or less–justifying the price tag.
I’ve also heard from a friend’s dad who is a lawyer for a number of luxury goods firms that I’d be totally surprised to find what actually was made in China (save a last buckle or two attached in Italy). Incidentally, he’s worked with LVMH.
Frankly, I’ve never considered Coach “luxury”, but kudos to them for being outright while others are shameful liars. But that aside, the quality of the stuff coming from China isn’t bad. I have made in China clothes (Phillip Lim’s collection is, far as I’m aware, all made there and they’re lovely pieces), shoes, purses, electronics. It’s pretty much unavoidable these days to not buy something where some part is made in China. I can’t think of a single electronics manufacturer that doesn’t have something or some component of something made-in-China so I’m kind of dubious of your assertion, Dem, that you NEVER buy things made in China.
As China continues to advance, with its workers continually paid better and the skilled labour class developing, its products will only continue looking & functioning better. Then things move production to Vietnam, Thailand,.. Africa can’t be far behind. It’s just the way things work. I’d rather be told the honest truth–not that I’d ever buy a canvas bag for the prices LV and Gucci charge even if they were “Made in France/Italy”.
6.29.2008 - 9:09 am
I just recently brought a Coach wristlet and matching wallet.
I husband just about flipped out - not over the price but that it was made in China.
I have american pride. Coach purses should be made in America. Vote NO to outsourcing. I will not be buying anymore Coach purses.
7.13.2008 - 12:22 am
I am connected with some of the former employees of the highest levels of the LVMH corp and can say as a fact that LV does make many of their bags and items in china and does the finishing in europe and that like most of the other luxury brands the “skilled artisans” are often low paid Chinese immigrants.
That said, i think it is xenophobic to think that quality products MUST be made in europe or that being made in europe is in it of itself a promise of quality.
the real promise of quality is how much the company stands behind its products. just like LV coach promises prefect with each item, and thats no small thing.
8.10.2008 - 9:47 pm
I like Coach bags but never bought one in their store. I go on eBay and look for people selling vintage Coach bags that were made in New York City, USA. That’s what I want, not their new junk. I found a beautiful Coach all-leather bag with cowhide inner lining (not FREAKING canvas) for a fraction of what I would’ve paid in retail. That makes me snicker at them, broo ha ha
The best way to stick it to the man is to only buy the products of theirs that you believe in. If everyone did this (which of course, wouldn’t happen, but in a perfect world, let’s say), Coach would take the hint and realize their supply far outweighs our demand.
8.16.2008 - 5:21 pm
Okay 30far- alligators are not endangered. cop a clue….
also, i am amazed at the amount of serious debate over a bunch of purses. if the last time you bought a coach purse you were in your late teens, maybe you were a spoiled rotten brat….
If you think your high end gucci, LV, and other Made in Italy ? France bags are not composed of materials manufactured by underpaid folks in all several different countries… you are also clueless
11.15.2008 - 10:38 pm