(c) 2008 
Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Reproduced with permission of copyright owner. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.Coach Inc. announced plans to name Jerry Stritzke, a Victoria's Secret executive, as its new president and chief operating officer, to succeed Keith Monda, who will retire at the end of the fiscal year on June 28.
Mr. Stritzke will begin Monday at the handbags-and-accessories retailer as an executive officer and take up Mr. Monda's posts in June. After June, Mr. Monda will remain a director.
Mr. Stritzke joins New York-based Coach from Limited Brands Inc., of Columbus, Ohio, where he was most recently chief operating officer and co-leader of Victoria's Secret, which included oversight for Victoria's Secret Stores, Victoria's Secret Direct, Victoria's Secret Beauty and Pink.
Coach also announced that it extended the contract of Reed Krakoff, president and executive creative director, by three years through June 2014. Since his arrival in 1996, Mr. Krakoff has transformed the brand from a staid maker of seemingly indestructible handbags to a hip brand with an ever-growing array of high-end fashion goods.
Coach has been doing better than most retailers amid a weak retail environment as it expands internationally. It reported in January that its fiscal-second-quarter net income rose 11%, though the company's big profit margins narrowed some amid a same-store-sales decline at U.S. retail stores. In Japan, Coach's second-largest market, sales remain strong.
Victoria's Secret has been beset by stronger competition on all sides. Discounters and department stores such as Target Corp., J.C. Penney Co. and Kohl's Corp. have been revamping their lingerie offerings. Teen chains such as American Eagle Outfitters Inc. have gone after the business, too.
Victoria's Secret's chief executive conceded two weeks ago that the brand has become "too sexy."
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