Coach confirms appointment of Joshua Schulman

Coach has confirmed the appointment for former Bergdorf Goodman president Joshua Schulman; he will join the business on 5 June as president and CEO of the Coach brand.

In this newly created role Schulman will report to Victor Luis, CEO of Coach, Inc and will be responsible for all aspects of the brand globally.

The creation of the role represents Coach's evolution into a multibrand organisation. It already owns premium footwear brand Stuart Weitzman and is hotly tipped to acquire US fashion, accessories and lifestyle brand Kate Spade.

Luis said he had known Schulman for many years and had "always hoped to attract him to Coach". "He lives and breathes our industry and brings a unique blend of brand building and broad retail experience to the company, making him the ideal person for this newly created role," he said.

Joshua Schulman

Schulman headed up Neiman Marcus-owned Bergdorf Goodman for five years and also held the role of president of Neiman Marcus Group International where he oversaw the Munich-based luxury brand etailer Mytheresa.com. Prior to that he was CEO at Jimmy Choo and has previously held senior roles with Gap, Yves Saint Laurent and Gucci.

Schulman said he had been "very impressed" with the evolution of Coah under the creative direction of British designer Stuart Vevers and the leadership of Luis. "I look forward to working with the talented global teams at Coach to build on this transformation, driving growth and relevance for the iconic brand across product categories, channels and geographies," he said.

Separately Coach has also appointed Ian Bickley, currently president, International Group for the Coach brand, to the new role of president, Global Business Development and Strategic Alliances for Coach, Inc. The role is effective from 2 July and Bickley will report to Luis.

In his new role Bickley will be responsible for strategic partnerships across brands. He will have oversight of the company’s global real estate development and will partner with the brand presidents in leading strategic distributor relationships, licensing partnerships and collaborations. He will also be "a key leader in the further development of Coach, Inc.’s multi-brand strategy".

Finally Coach has also reported that Andre Cohen, currently president, North America and Global Marketing for the Coach brand, will be leaving the company at the end of June to return to Asia with his family. Cohen has been with Coach since 2008.