Viral TikTok Video Leads to Drop in Coach Bags Sales

A viral TikTok video emerged on Saturday that led to a drop in 44% of sales of Coach bags. The video revealed that the high-end brand was slashing and dumping unsold merchandise, and it also led to a drop of 49% in searches for ‘Coach bags’ online. The statistical date comes from Lovethesales.com, a global fashion marketplace which tracks demand and sales data of around 10 million global shoppers across 1,000 retailers. According to the London-based fashion analysis firm, there had been a rise in Coach figures this year with the launch of the Pillow Tabby Bag and more products, but the brand faces a huge drop in demand after the video of destroyed goods went viral.

Brands, both high-street and high-end, have previously faced outrage over destroying merchandise. British brand Burberry, in 2018, was said to have destroyed items worth $36 million, as part of its strategy to preserve the exclusivity of its goods. Following weeks of protests and outrage, the brand announced it would no longer destroy merchandise. Similarly, brands including H&M and Urban Outfitters, athletics brand Nike, and watchmakers such as Cartier and Piaget, have also come under the accusation of destroying products.

With the TikTok video being viral, critics of Coach have begun to discuss the brand's hypocrisy and irresponsibility, citing the details of Coach's various sustainable practices that work towards creating a circular economy. A popular Coach initiative has been a repair program to increase the lifespan of your Coach product. “Don’t ditch it, repair it,” reads the website. “It’s another small thing we can do to keep bags out of landfill and reduce our impact on the environment.” Coach is also one of Barron’s 2020 Most Sustainable Companies in America, and remains seemingly unbothered about the video circulating social media

Responding to the allegations, Coach released a statement that read, “We have ceased destroying in-store returns of damaged and unsaleable goods and are dedicated to maximizing such products reuse in our Coach (Re)Loved and other circularity programs,” and that the brand would look to “responsibly repurpose, recycle and reuse excess or damaged products.”

Statistics continued to drop this week, with a further drop of 21%, however, by Thursday the numbers started to stabilize. One cannot say if there will be any permanent damage to the brand. According to Rebecca Deuchar of Lovethesales.com, it will depend on what Coach does to be responsible for their actions and how they rectify the issue.