Lew Frankfort: Bag Man

For the full article in the Holiday 2025 issue, click HERE. To read the entire issue, click HERE.

I still remember meeting Lew Frankfort briefly in the mid-1990s when he was the CEO of Coach and I was a buyer for QVC. At the time, he wasn’t especially thrilled about the idea of selling his bags on television. But despite his reluctance, we hosted one or two remarkable shows. The response was electric: customers clamored for Coach bags, and we sold about half a million dollars worth of product in under an hour — an unheard-of achievement at that time.

Shortly after, the brand was repositioned, and QVC was no longer part of its growth story. For us, it was a disappointment. But what I witnessed in those moments was unforgettable: the magnetic pull of a brand under a leader with an unwavering vision. Customers didn’t just like those bags — they passionately wanted them.

That obsession and the foundation Frankfort built rocketed Coach into one of the most remarkable success stories in modern retail. It’s a story as unlikely as it is inspiring and one that he candidly shares in his new book, “Bag Man: The Story Behind the Improbable Rise of Coach.”