Coach shuttering Hong Kong flagship

Coach is ending its lease for its Hong Kong flagship two years earlier than planned as tourists to mainland China begin to dissipate. August 31 will be the stores last training day according to WWD. The store, located on Queens Road Central, was seen as a prime retail location that Coach was originally going to hold onto until 2017.

Coach is just one of many brands that are either leaving Queens Road Central or trying to negotiate lower rents. Other brands in similar predicaments include Burberry, Tag Heuer, and Chow Tai Fook. The Coach flagship opened in 2008 and was welcomed by the city with open arms.

Coach closes flagship in response to China slowdown

Even in the midst of Coach's sluggish sales number, customers in China seemed to love the brand so much that there was still hope for the store continuing to succeed. In 2012, Coach extended their lease for another 5 years at the cost of 929,401 dollars a month. Despite the demise of the current flagship store, Coach still retains a strong retail presence in China.

The company will still operate 21 stores in China after the closure of the Queens Road Central location. Victor Luis, Coach's CEO, said that the brand was feeling the struggle of the China slowdown. Despite the slowdown and the closure of one of their flagship locations, Coach still has a target sales growth goal of 5 percent or 625 million dollars for greater China.