Coach Opens Its First Restaurant — in Jakarta

At the Coach store In Jakarta, you can now get a side of fries with your Tabby Bag.

On Monday, the New York-based brand will open The Coach Restaurant and The Coach Coffee Shop, both of which are attached to its store in the Grand Indonesia Mall in Jakarta, Indonesia. Both dining concepts are inspired by the brand’s hometown. The restaurant — which has a replica of a New York City yellow cab hanging upside down from the ceiling — is a reinterpretation of a New York steakhouse, while the coffee shop sells slices of pizza and soft-serve ice cream in addition to coffee. There are nods to the brand throughout both experiences, from the ‘C’ logo printed on a burger’s bun to the uniforms worn by employees, which were designed by the brand’s creative director Stuart Vevers.

There’s multiple reasons for opening the first Coach restaurant in Indonesia, according to Todd Kahn, Coach’s chief executive officer and brand president. The country has a youthful population — about half are Millennials, Gen-Z or younger. The Coach’s team in the region has had experience opening other experiential spaces, such as the Coach Play Shophouse concept store in Singapore. As well, the brand has been expanding its presence in the Southeast Asia in recent years.

The hope is that this will just be the first of several future hospitality concepts. While this initial location is strongly influenced by New York, other locations will more prominently reflect cities they’re located in, he added.

“We’re going to want to blend some of the local flavour,” Kahn said. “It has to be authentic to Coach, but I don’t think we’re just going to take a rigid formula and transplant it.”

The restaurant opening, two years in the making, is the latest move from Coach to bring the brand to life beyond product, hosting fashion shows and dropping clever campaigns to further build the brand’s identity. Kahn called the restaurant in particular the “full expression of the Coach brand.” It’s a way to keep consumers in the brand’s universe for longer — a meal at a restaurant could last multiple hours, while few shopping trips take that much time — but also bring Coach into the sentimental experience of sharing a meal. There are merchandise opportunities too, such as Coach Coffee Shop branded hats, shirts and pouches.

Food and beverage is something that’s worked well for other brands. Ralph Lauren famously operates restaurants in cities including Chicago, Paris and New York, where The Polo Bar has become so hot a reservation that patrons have to call a month in advance in hopes of securing a table.

But while Kahn hopes the venture is successful, he doesn’t aspire to have The Coach Restaurant become an impossible-to-snag reservation.

“I want it to be a place where people can gather, where somebody will say, ‘let’s go to the Coach Coffee Shop to grab something,’ because it’s inviting and inclusive,” said Kahn. “If they happen to fall in love with a Tabby bag while they’re there, that much the better.”

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